Maternal and antenatal risk factors for stillbirths and neonatal mortality in rural Bangladesh: a case-control study

Factors Associated with Neonatal Survival in a Special Care Newborn Unit in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangladesh

The 2020 neonatal mortality rate in Bangladesh was 17 deaths per 1,000 live births, higher than the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal target (12 deaths per 1,000 live births). Over the past decade, Bangladesh has established special care newborn units (SCANUs) in medical facilities countrywide to improve neonatal survival. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in the SCANU of a tertiary-level healthcare facility in Bangladesh to study neonatal survival and associated risk factors using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. Of 674 neonates admitted to the unit between January and November 2018, 263 (39%) died in hospital, 309 (46%) were discharged against medical advice, 90 (13%) were discharged healthy, and 12 (2%) had other discharge statuses. The median duration of time spent in hospital was 3 days, and 60% were admitted at birth. Neonates delivered via Cesarean section (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.5; 95% CI: 1.2-5.6) had an increased odds of recovering and being discharged, whereas those diagnosed with prematurity and/or low birth weight at admission (aOR: 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1-0.4) had a decreased odds of doing so. The high mortality rate and large number of neonates discharged against medical advice suggest a need to investigate the etiology of death and the factors leading to children leaving hospital prior to recovery. Medical records lacked information on gestational age that could provide key insights about mortality risk and age of viability in this setting. Addressing these knowledge gaps in SCANUs may enable better support for the improvement of child survival.

Does provision of antenatal care in Southern Asia improve neonatal survival? A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Southern Asia has one of the highest burdens of neonatal mortality worldwide (26/1000 live births). Ensuring that women receive antenatal care from a skilled provider may play an important role in reducing this burden.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine whether antenatal care received from a skilled provider could reduce neonatal mortality in Southern Asia by systematically reviewing existing evidence.

STUDY DESIGN

Seven databases were searched (MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, and International Bibliography of the Social Sciences [IBSS]). The key words included: "neonatal mortality," "antenatal care," and "Southern Asia." Nonrandomized comparative studies conducted in Southern Asia reporting on neonatal mortality in women who received antenatal care compared with those who did not were included. Two authors carried out the screening and data extraction. The Risk of Bias Assessment tool for Non-randomized Studies (RoBANS) was used to assess quality of studies. Results were reported using a random-effects model based on odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

Four studies were included in a meta-analysis of adjusted results. The pooled odds ratio was 0.46 (95% confidence interval, 0.24 to 0.86) for neonatal deaths among women having at least 1 antenatal care visit during pregnancy compared with women having none. In the final meta-analysis, 16 studies could not be included because of lack of adjustment for confounders, highlighting the need for further higher-quality studies to evaluate the true impact.

CONCLUSION

This review suggests that in Southern Asia, neonates born to women who received antenatal care have a lower risk of death in the neonatal period compared with neonates born to women who did not receive antenatal care. This should encourage health policy to strengthen antenatal care programs in Southern Asia.

Evaluation of a Neonatal Resuscitation Training Programme for Healthcare Professionals in Zanzibar, Tanzania: A Pre-post Intervention Study

Background: Neonatal mortality rates remain high in Sub-Saharan African countries. Improving the newborn resuscitation skills of healthcare professionals is important in addressing this challenge. The aim of this study was to evaluate a neonatal resuscitation training programme delivered over a two-year period for healthcare professionals in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Methods: A pre- and post-intervention study was designed. We delivered neonatal resuscitation training over a 2-day period in 2017 and 2 days of refresher training in 2018. Knowledge was evaluated by a self-designed survey (11 items with a total score of 22) before and after the two training periods, and skills were evaluated by a skills checklist (six domains with 25 items with a total score of 50) completed by the trainers based on their observations. Statistical analysis included differences in the knowledge and skills scores before and after the training sessions and between the two periods. Results: A total of 23 healthcare professionals participated and completed both neonatal resuscitation training sessions. The knowledge mean scores before and after the training in 2017 increased from 9.60 to 13.60 (95% CI: -5.900; -2.099, p < 0.001), and in 2018, the scores increased from 10.80 to 15.44 (95% CI: -6.062; -3.217, p < 0.001). The mean knowledge scores post-training over time were 13.60 in 2017 and 15.44 in 2018 (95% CI: -3.489; 0.190, p = 0.030). The resuscitation skills performance between the two time periods increased from a mean of 32.26 (SD = 2.35) to a mean of 42.43 (SD = 1.73) (95% CI: -11.402; -8.945, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The neonatal resuscitation training programme increased the theoretical knowledge and resuscitation skills before and after the two training sessions and over time after a 9-month period. Continuous neonatal resuscitation training based on the local needs in resource-limited countries is essential to provide confidence in healthcare professionals to initiate resuscitation and to improve newborn outcomes.

Neonatal deaths in infants born weighing ≥ 2500 g in low and middle-income countries

Background

Babies born weighing ≥ 2500 g account for more than 80% of the births in most resource-limited locations and for nearly 50% of the 28-day neonatal deaths. In contrast, in high-resource settings, 28-day neonatal mortality among this group represents only a small fraction of the neonatal deaths. Yet mortality risks for birth weight of ≥ 2500 g is limited. Knowledge regarding the factors associated with mortality in these babies will help in identifying interventions that can reduce mortality.

Methods

The Global Network’s Maternal Newborn Health Registry (MNHR) is a prospective, population-based observational study that includes all pregnant women and their pregnancy outcomes in defined geographic communities that has been conducted in research sites in six low-middle income countries (India, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Kenya and Zambia). Study staff enroll all pregnant women as early as possible during pregnancy and conduct follow-up visits to ascertain delivery and 28-day neonatal outcomes. We analyzed the neonatal mortality rates (NMR) and risk factors for deaths by 28 days among all live-born babies with a birthweight ≥ 2500 g from 2010 to 2018 across the Global Network sites.

Results

Babies born in the Global Network sites from 2010 to 2018 with a birthweight ≥ 2500 g accounted for 84.8% of the births and 45.4% of the 28-day neonatal deaths. Among this group, the overall NMR was 13.1/1000 live births. The overall 28-day NMR for ongoing clusters was highest in Pakistan (29.7/1000 live births) and lowest in the Zambian/Kenyan sites (9.3/1000) for ≥ 2500 g infants. ≥ 2500 g NMRs declined for Zambia/Kenya and India. For Pakistan and Guatemala, the NMR remained almost unchanged over the period. The ≥ 2500 g risks related to maternal, delivery and newborn characteristics varied by site. Maternal factors that increased risk and were common for all sites included nulliparity, hypertensive disease, previous stillbirth, maternal death, obstructed labor, severe postpartum hemorrhage, and abnormal fetal presentation. Neonatal characteristics including resuscitation, hospitalization, congenital anomalies and male sex, as well as lower gestational ages and birthweights were also associated with increased mortality.

Conclusions

Nearly half of neonatal deaths in the Global Network sites occurred in infants born weighing ≥ 2500 g. The NMR for those infants was 13.1 per 1000 live births, much higher than rates usually seen in high-income countries. The changes in NMR over time varied across the sites. Even among babies born ≥ 2500 g, lower gestational age and birthweight were largely associated with increased risk of mortality. Since many of these deaths should be preventable, attention to preventing mortality in these infants should have an important impact on overall NMR.

Trial registration: https://ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01073475

Factors associated with stillbirth in selected countries of South Asia: A systematic review of observational studies

BACKGROUND

Despite having the high rate of stillbirth in most of the countries of South Asia, there is a lack of synthesized evidence based on factors associated with stillbirth. This study systematically synthesizes the evidence on factors associated with stillbirth in the four selected countries of South Asia.

METHODS

This review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies that examined factors associated with stillbirth in South Asia were searched using five major electronic search databases including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, and Scopus, published between January 2000 and December 2019. In the meta-analysis, significant heterogeneity was detected among studies (I2 >50%), and hence a random effect model was used.

RESULTS

A total of 20 studies met the inclusion criteria. The pooled rate of stillbirth from the studies in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan was 25.15 per 1000 births. Pregnancy complications, maternal health conditions, fetal complications, lack of antenatal care, and lower Socio Economic Status (SES) were the most common factors associated with stillbirth in countries of South Asia.

CONCLUSION

This study confirmed that stillbirth in selected countries of South Asia remains high. To reduce stillbirth, a greater focus needs to be on timely management of preterm labor, maternal hypertension, and provision of financial support for quality antenatal and delivery care. The interventions should be targeted for women living in remote areas, who are less educated and those with low SES.

The effects of household's climate-related displacement on delivery and postnatal care service utilization in rural Bangladesh

Exposure to extreme climate events causes population displacement and adversely affects the health of mothers and children in multiple ways. This paper investigates the effects of displacement on whether a child is delivered at a health center, as opposed to at home, and on postnatal care service utilization in Bangladesh. Using cross-sectional survey data from 599 mothers who gave birth in the three years prior to the date of interview, including 278 from households which had previously been displaced and 231 from households which had not been displaced, we use multivariate logistic regression to identify the factors associated with maternal healthcare service utilization. The results show that displaced households' mothers are only about a quarter as likely to deliver at a health center as mothers from non-displaced households. The use of health center-based delivery decreases as the numbers of past displacements increases. Higher number of previous children, lower use of antenatal care during pregnancy, lower household income, and lack of access to radio/television also significantly reduce a mother's likelihood of delivery at a health center. Displaced mothers are also substantially less likely to use postnatal care services for their neonates, especially those supplied by trained providers. Use of health facilities for delivery, use of antenatal care services, and previous number of children are other important predictors of postnatal care service utilization for neonates. In light of these findings, relocation of local health facilities with basic and emergency care provisions to areas in which the displaced have resettled, reinforcement of Family Planning services, and extension of coverage of the Maternity Allowance benefits in the displacement-prone mainland riverine areas are recommended policy responses.

Exploring women and traditional birth attendants' perceptions and experiences of stillbirths in district Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan: a qualitative study

Background

Pakistan reports the highest stillbirth rate in the world at 43 per thousand births with more than three-quarters occurring in rural areas. The Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health maintains a Maternal and Newborn Health Registry (MNHR) in 14 study clusters of district Thatta, Sindh Pakistan. For the last 10 years, the MNHR has recorded a high stillbirths rate with a slow decline. This exploratory study was designed to understand the perspectives of women and traditional birth attendants regarding the high occurrence of stillbirth in Thatta district.

Methods

We used an exploratory qualitative study design by conducting in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) using semi-structured interview guide with rural women (FGDs = 4; n = 29) and traditional birth attendants (FGDs = 4; n = 14) who were permanent residents of Thatta. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with women who had experienced a stillbirth (IDIs = 4). This study presents perceptions and experiences of women and TBAs regarding high rate of stillbirth in Thatta district, Karachi.

Results

Women showed reluctance to receive skilled/ standard care when in need due to apprehensions towards operative delivery, poor attitude of skilled health care providers, and poor quality of care as service delivery factors. High cost of care, far distance to facility, lack of transport and need of an escort from the family or village to visit a health facility were additional important factors for not seeking care resulting in stillbirth. The easy availability of unskilled provider in the form of traditional birth attendant is then preferred over a skilled health care provider. TBAs shared their husband or family members restrict them to visit or consult a doctor during pregnancy. According to TBAs after delivering a macerated fetus, women are given herbs to remove infection from woman‘s body and uterus. Further women are advised to conceive soon so that they get rid of infections.

Conclusion

Women of this rural community carry lots of apprehension against skilled medical care and as a result follow traditional practices. Conscious efforts are required to increase the awareness of women to develop positive health seeking behavior during pregnancy, delivery and the post-partum period. Alongside, provision of respectful maternity care needs to be emphasized especially at public health facilities.

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN QUALITY OF INTRAPARTUM CARE WITH FRESH STILLBIRTH IN A LOW-INCOME URBAN SETTING

Introduction

Africa bears the greatest burden of stillbirth and yet, there is a paucity of data from this setting. The aim of this study was to determine the association between quality of intrapartum care and fresh stillbirth in Nairobi, Kenya.

Methods and materials

This was a case control study in 4 tertiary public hospitals in Nairobi county from August 2018 to April 2019. Two hundred and fourteen women with stillbirths and 428 women with livebirths between 28-42 weeks were enrolled. Fifty-five (55) of the 214 women had fresh stillbirths and were included in this analysis. Information was obtained through interviews and data abstraction from the medical records. The exposure variables were sociodemographics, refferal status, intrapartum complications, partogram use and fetal heart rate monitoring. The two-sample t-test was used to compare continuous variables and Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests for categorical variables. The association between exposure and outcome variables was done using bivariate and multivariate analysis using logistic regression. Statistical significance was defined as a two-tailed p-value ≤ 0.05.

Results

Refferal (OR 3.4, 95 % CI 1.9-6.03, P=0.001); no use of a partogram (OR 4.7 95% CI 2.6-8.4, P=<0.001); no fetal heart rate monitoring per schedule (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.7, P=0.03), caesarean (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1-3.34, P=0.05) or beech delivery (OR 18, 95% CI=3.2-103, P=0.001) were associated with fresh stillbirth.

Conclusion

Improving the referral system, intrapartum care and timely caesarean delivery can reduce the risk of fresh stillbirth.

Effect of antenatal care and social well-being on early neonatal mortality in Bangladesh

Background

Bangladesh has achieved MDG 4, but although post neonatal and child mortality have shown impressive declines, neonatal mortality is still lagging behind. More efforts have to be made to improve this state of affairs. The objective of this paper is to identify the effect of proper antenatal care and social wellbeing on early neonatal mortality in Bangladesh.

Methods

The data used for this study is the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. This study used several independent variables such as mother’s school attendance, receiving antenatal care, receiving TT injection, place of residence and wealth quintile. Here both bivariate and multivariate analysis have been used. At bivariate level, simple cross tabulation and appropriate measures of association have been used to find out the statistical association between dependent and independent variables. In this study the outcome/dependent variable is early neonatal mortality (children who died within 7 days after birth) which is a binary variable. If early neonatal mortality occurs among the respondents then it is considered as 1, otherwise it is considered as 0. Logistic regression was used to identify the factors which are involved in reducing this early neonatal mortality.

Results

Women who received antenatal care during their time of pregnancy are likely to have 18% lower odds of experiencing early neonatal mortality (OR = 0.82, CI = (0.71–0.95)) compared to groups who did not receive antenatal care during pregnancy. In terms of social well-being, the woman who comes from the richest family are likely to have 45% lower odds of experiencing early neonatal mortality (OR = 0.55, CI = (0.42–0.720) compared to the poorest one.

Conclusion

The outcomes of this paper suggest that the women’s antenatal care and social well-being has a significant effect on early neonatal mortality.

Efforts to alter the trajectory of neonatal mortality in Malawi: evaluating relative effects of access to maternal care services and birth history risk factors

BACKGROUND

The neonatal mortality rate (NMR) in Malawi has remained stagnant at around 27 per 1000 live births over the last 15 years, despite an increase in the uptake of targeted health care interventions. We used the nationally representative 2015/16 Demographic Health Survey data set to evaluate the effect of two types of maternal exposures, namely, lack of access to maternal or intra-partum care services and birth history factors, on the risk of neonatal mortality.

METHODS

A causal inference approach was used to estimate a population attributable risk parameter for each exposure, adjusting for co-exposures and household, maternal and child-specific covariates. The maternal exposures evaluated were unmet family planning needs, less than 4+ antenatal care visits, lack of institutional delivery or skilled birth attendance, having prior neonatal mortality, short (8-24 months) birth interval preceding the index birth, first pregnancy, and two or more pregnancy outcomes within the preceding five years of the survey interview.

RESULTS

We included 9553 women and their most recent live birth within 3 years of the survey. The sample's overall neonatal mortality rate was 18.5 per 1000 live births. The adjusted population attributable risk for first pregnancies was 3.9/1000 (P < 0.001), while non-institutional deliveries and the shortest preceding birth interval (8-24 months) each had an attributable risk of 1.3/1000 (Ps = 0.01). Having 2 or more pregnancy outcomes within the last 5 years had an attributable risk of 3/1000 (P = 0.006). Attending less than 4 ANC visits had, a relatively large attributable risk (2.1/1,000), and it was not statistically significant at alpha level 0.05.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis addresses the gap in the literature on evaluating the effect of these exposures on neonatal mortality in Malawi. It also helps inform programs and current efforts such as the Every Newborn Action 2020 Plan. Increasing access to maternal care interventions has an important role to play in changing the trajectory of neonatal mortality, and women who are at an increased risk may not be receiving adequate care. Recent studies indicate an urgent need to assess gaps in service readiness and quality of care at the antenatal and obstetric care facilities.

Rates and determinants of neonatal mortality in two rural sub-districts of Sylhet, Bangladesh

INTRODUCTION

Reducing neonatal mortality rate (NMR) is a challenge in many low- and middle-income countries including Bangladesh. In 2014, the estimated NMR in this country was 28 per 1,000 live births. This rate is higher in rural regions compared to the national average. Currently, Sylhet Division has the highest NMR in Bangladesh. Investigating rates and determinants of neonatal mortality in rural regions of this high-risk division is particularly important to implement evidence-based programs. This study examined rates and determinants of neonatal deaths in a large rural cohort in Sylhet Division.

METHODS

We analyzed data from a multi-country cohort study, Aetiology of Neonatal Infections in South Asia. From November 2011 to December 2013, this study was conducted in two rural sub-districts in Sylhet Division. Community health workers followed 28,960 pregnant women and their newborns up to two months postpartum and collected data on pregnancy outcomes and newborns' survival status. The NMR was obtained by dividing total number of neonatal deaths with all studied newborns. Logistic regression was employed to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for factors associated with neonatal mortality. Stata 14.0 was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

This study analyzed data of 21,227 newborns. The NMR was 43.4 (95% CI: 39.3-48.0) per 1,000 live births (N = 922). Multivariable analysis showed that the odds of neonatal mortality were significantly higher among male newborns (AOR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.2-1.8), babies born before 34 weeks of gestation (AOR: 5.0, 95% CI: 4.1-6.1), those who were twins or triplets (AOR: 6.2, 95% CI: 3.6-10.9), and first-born child (AOR: 2.9, 95% CI: 1.6-5.3). Additionally, maternal age 30-35 years (AOR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.-1.8), history of child death (AOR: 1.6, 95% CI: 1.2-2.2), and delivery complications (AOR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.6-2.6) had positive associations with neonatal deaths.

CONCLUSION

Public health programs in Bangladesh need to adopt a comprehensive strategy to address the individual, maternal, and intrapartum factors associated with neonatal mortality in rural regions. Interventions should aim to prioritize managing pre-term deliveries, first-born child, and delivery complications among pregnant women.

Predictors of stillbirths in Bangladesh: evidence from the 2004-2014 nation-wide household surveys

Background: Globally, stillbirth remains a significant public health issue, particularly in developing countries such as Bangladesh.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the potential predictors of stillbirths in Bangladesh over a ten-year period.

Methods: The Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys data for the years 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2014 (n = 29,094) were used for the study to investigate the predictors of stillbirths. Stillbirth was examined against a set of community, socio-economic and child characteristics, using a multivariable logistic regression model that adjusted for cluster and sampling variability.

Results: The pooled rate of stillbirth in Bangladesh was 28 in 1000 births (95% CI: 22, 34). Stillbirth rates were higher in rural compared to urban areas in Bangladesh. Mothers who had a secondary or higher level of education (OR = 0.59, 95%CI: 0.43–0.82, P = 0.002) and those with primary education (OR = 0.66, 95%CI: 0.55–0.80, P < 0.001) were less likely to experience stillbirths compared to mothers with no education. Mothers with more than two children were significantly less likely to have stillbirths compared to mothers with one child. Those from poor households reported increased odds of stillbirth compared to those from rich households.

Conclusion: Our analysis indicated that no maternal education, primiparity and poor household were predictors of stillbirths in Bangladesh. A collaborative effort is needed to reduce stillbirth rates among these high-risk groups in Bangladesh, with the socio-economic and health-related Sustainable Development Goals providing a critical vehicle for the co-ordination of this work.

Stillbirth surveillance and review in rural districts in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND

An estimated 2.6 million stillbirths occur every year, with the majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Understanding the cause of and factors associated with stillbirth is important to help inform the design and implementation of interventions aimed at reducing preventable stillbirths.

METHODS

Population-based surveillance with identification of all stillbirths that occurred either at home or in a health facility was introduced in four districts in Bangladesh. Verbal autopsy was conducted for every fifth stillbirth using a structured questionnaire. A hierarchical model was used to assign likely cause of stillbirth.

RESULTS

Six thousand three hundred thirty-three stillbirths were identified for which 1327 verbal autopsies were conducted. 63.9% were intrapartum stillbirths. The population-based stillbirth rate obtained was 20.4 per 1000 births; 53.9% of all stillbirths occurred at home. 69.6% of mothers had accessed health care in the period leading up to the stillbirth. 48.1% had received care from a highly trained healthcare provider. The three most frequent causes of stillbirth were maternal hypertension or eclampsia (15.2%), antepartum haemorrhage (13.7%) and maternal infections (8.9%). Up to 11.3% of intrapartum stillbirths were caused by hypoxia. However, it was not possible to identify a cause of death with reasonable certainty using information obtained via verbal autopsy in 51.9% of stillbirths.

CONCLUSIONS

Introducing surveillance for stillbirths at community level is possible. However, verbal autopsy yields limited data, and the questionnaire used for this needs to be revised and/or combined with information obtained through case note review. Most women accessed and received care from a qualified healthcare provider. To reduce the number of preventable stillbirths, the quality of antenatal and intrapartum care needs to be improved.

Determinants of early neonatal mortality in Afghanistan: an analysis of the Demographic and Health Survey 2015

Background

Neonatal mortality is declining slowly compared to under-five mortality in many developing countries including Afghanistan. About three-fourths of these deaths occur in the early neonatal period (i.e., the first week of life). Although a number of studies investigated determinants of early neonatal mortality in other countries, there is a lack of evidence regarding this in Afghanistan. This study investigated determinants of early neonatal mortality in Afghanistan.

Methods

Data from the Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey 2015 (AfDHS 2015) were analyzed. After reporting the weighted frequency distributions of selected factors, a multilevel logistic regression model revealed adjusted associations of factors with early neonatal mortality.

Results

A total of 19,801 weighted live-births were included in our analysis; 266 (1.4%) of the newborns died in this period. Multivariable analysis found that multiple gestations (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 9.3; 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.7–15.0), larger (AOR: 2.9; 95% CI: 2.2–3.8) and smaller (AOR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.2–2.6) than average birth size, maternal age ≤ 18 years (AOR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.1–3.2) and ≥ 35 years (AOR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.3–2.3), and birth interval of < 2 years (AOR: 2.6; 95% CI: 1.4–4.9) had higher odds of early neonatal mortality. On the other hand, antenatal care by a skilled provider (AOR: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.5–0.9), facility delivery (AOR: 0.7; 955 CI: 0.5–0.9), paternal higher education level (AOR: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.5–1.0), living in north-western (AOR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1–0.6), central-western regions (AOR: 0.5; 95% CI: 0.3–0.9) and in a community with higher maternal education level (AOR: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2–0.9) had negative association.

Conclusions

Several individual, maternal and community level factors influence early neonatal deaths in Afghanistan; significance of the elements of multiple levels indicates that neonatal survival programs should follow a multifaceted approach to incorporate these associated factors. Programs should focus on birth interval prolongation with the promotion of family planning services, utilization of antenatal care and institutional delivery services along with management of preterm and sick infants to prevent this large number of deaths in this period.

Antepartum complications and perinatal mortality in rural Bangladesh

BACKGROUND

Despite impressive improvements in maternal survival throughout the world, rates of antepartum complications remain high. These conditions also contribute to high rates of perinatal deaths, which include stillbirths and early neonatal deaths, but the extent is not well studied. This study examines patterns of antepartum complications and the risk of perinatal deaths associated with such complications in rural Bangladesh.

METHODS

We used data on self-reported antepartum complications during the last pregnancy and corresponding pregnancy outcomes from a household survey (N = 6,285 women) conducted in Sylhet district, Bangladesh in 2006. We created three binary outcome variables (stillbirths, early neonatal deaths, and perinatal deaths) and three binary exposure variables indicating antepartum complications, which were antepartum hemorrhage (APH), probable infection (PI), and probable pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). We then examined patterns of antepartum complications and calculated incidence rate ratios (IRR) to estimate the associated risks of perinatal mortality using Poisson regression analyses. We calculated population attributable fraction (PAF) for the three antepartum complications to estimate potential risk reductions of perinatal mortality associated them.

RESULTS

We identified 356 perinatal deaths (195 stillbirths and 161 early neonatal deaths). The highest risk of perinatal death was associated with APH (IRR = 3.5, 95% CI: 2.4-4.9 for perinatal deaths; IRR = 3.7, 95% CI 2.3-5.9 for stillbirths; IRR = 3.5, 95% CI 2.0-6.1 for early neonatal deaths). Pregnancy-induced hypertension was a significant risk factor for stillbirths (IRR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.5), while PI was a significant risk factor for early neonatal deaths (IRR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.2). Population attributable fraction of APH and PIH were 6.8% and 10.4% for perinatal mortality and 7.5% and 14.7% for stillbirths respectively. Population attributable fraction of early neonatal mortality due to APH was 6.2% and for PI was 7.8%.

CONCLUSIONS

Identifying antepartum complications and ensuring access to adequate care for those complications are one of the key strategies in reducing perinatal mortality in settings where most deliveries occur at home.

Factors associated with post-cesarean stillbirth in 12 hospitals in Benin: a cross-sectional

Introduction

In spite of free caesarean section applied in Benin since 2009, high rates of stillborn babies continue to be recorded. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with post-caesarean stillborn in Benin.

Methods

Cross-sectional study that covered all women who have delivered by caesarean from December 2013 to February 2014 in twelve hospitals chosen by simple random selection in each of the twelve departments of Benin. Data collected by chart review have been analyzed using the statistical software Epi info 3.5.1. Univariate analysis and multivariable logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with post-caesarean stillbirth at the significance threshold of 5%.

Results

There were 66 stillborn per 1,000 births of which 58% died before admission to hospital. The risk factors identified were the reference (p = 0.0011), general anesthesia (p = 0.0371), the low birth weight (p = 0.0001), the retro-placental hematoma (p = 0.0083), and the umbilical cord prolapse (p = 0.0229). Acute fetal distress (p = 0.0308) and anesthesia administered by an anesthetist nurse or midwife (p = 0.0337) were protective factors.

Conclusion

The majority of cases, in utero death occurred before admission to hospital. Strengthening antenatal refocused consultation, a better access to quality obstetric care and the grant of all obstetric care could reduce stillbirths from caesarean sections in Benin.