TITLE:
Stillbirth at a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital
AUTHORS:
Owoicho Daniel Okochi, Anthony Dennis Isah, Teddy Eyaofun Agida, Nathaniel Adewole
KEYWORDS:
Stillbirth Rate, Risk Factors, Sociodemographic Factors
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.8 No.8,
July
27,
2018
ABSTRACT: Background: Despite improvements in antenatal and intrapartum
care, stillbirth still remains an important, largely understudied and pregnant
problem in obstetrics. Most of the stillbirths occur
in the developing world and the majority of stillbirths are preventable. Objective: To determine the stillbirth rate, the identifiable risk factors and
sociodemographic factors associated with stillbirths. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective review of all deliveries conducted at UATH over a
five-year period spanning from the January 2012 to December 2016. In this
study, stillbirths were considered as foetal death at or after 28 weeks of
gestation or a birth weight of 1000 g or more. The folders of cases
that met the definition of stillbirth within the study period were retrieved
and analyzed for sociodemographic factors, type of stillbirth, fetomaternal
determinants of stillbirths and presumptive/identifiable risk factors for the
stillbirth. Results: There were a total of 5714 deliveries within the
period under review, of which 288 resulted in stillbirths giving an
institutional stillbirth rate of 50.4/1000 deliveries. Out of the 288
stillbirths, 136 (47.2%) were fresh stillbirths while 152 (52.8%) were macerated. Macerated stillbirth (152, 52.8%) was slightly predominant, with obstructed
labour 94 (32.6%) being responsible for most of the stillbirths. Most of the
stillbirths were preterm (183, 63.5%). There were 6 congenitally malformed
stillbirth foetuses and no autopsy was carried out on any of the 288 stillborn.
However, majority of the parturients who had stillbirth were unemployed (137, 47.6%) and uneducated (110, 38.2%). Conclusion: The stillbirth rate
within the study period appears. Complications of labour seem to
be the leading risk factor for stillbirth in this study. Low socioeconomic
status underscores the need to reduce factors related to social, educational,
occupational and healthy inequalities in the developing world.