European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Perinatal mortality has remained a major public health problem in India, this study aims to analyze the perinatal deaths and the risk factors attributed to perinatal mortality.
Methodology: This is a case-control study, we studied 72 cases and 72 controls. Cases were the patients admitted in labour room with gestational age >28 weeks who gave birth to stillborn or whose babies died within first 7 days of life and controls were ones who gave birth to live babies and whose babies survived more than 7 days of life. The analysis was done using appropriate epi info statistical package and regression analysis was done to quantify independent risk factors in perinatal mortality.
Results and Interpretation: Of the 72 cases, 55 cases had stillbirths contributing to 76.3% and the 17 cases had early neonatal deaths contributing to 23.7% of perinatal mortality. The mean maternal age for cases was 26.4 and for controls, it is 25.1. Controls had regular ANCs (75%) compared to cases (45.4%) with OR of 0.26(0.10-0.67). Cases that were referred to as IUDs contributed majorly for perinatal mortality. Early preterm births were more common among cases (58.3%) with OR 34.82(11.06-109.6) and P value <0.001. Gestational hypertension was the most common medical complication found among the cases (15.3%). 10 Anomalous babies were seen in cases. (48.6%) of cases had preterm delivery compared to controls with (8.3%) and rate of LSCS was high 7.3 times higher in cases compared to the control group. Low birth weight babies were 7.7 times more common among cases with P <0.001. Low APGAR at birth was more among cases compared to controls. Birth asphyxia was the commonest factor found in early neonatal deaths and 41.1% of babies died on day 1.
Conclusions: Lack of regular ANCs, late referrals of high-risk patients, complications like gestational hypertension, IUGR, prematurity, anomalies among babies, low birth weight, low APGAR score at birth, birth asphyxia were some of the factors found ascribed to perinatal mortality.