The New Indian Journal of OBGYN. 11(2):380-386

Prevalence and attributable risk factors of stillbirth at a tertiary care center in Puducherry - a case control study

Sabahathfathima, Sabita P, Subhashini K

ABSTRACT

Background: The stillbirth (SB) rate in India is worrisome and contributing to the highest number of SB in the world. The Indian government has adopted a target of <10 SB/1000 births by 2030. To achieve this target, understanding prevalence and risk factors in different states are of paramount importance, as India represents the coalescence of several cultures which can influence the risk factors like family structure, marriage, and women's education. Hence we aimed to estimate the prevalence and to determine the risk factors in our population. Method: Women who delivered a baby after 28 weeks of pregnancy with no signs of life as cases and live babies as controls were included in the study in the ratio of 1:2. Data was taken from medical records, antenatal files, and personal interviews with a structured questionnaire. Results: In the present study, the prevalence was found to be 6.8/1000 total births and most of them are in the antepartum period. A significant number of SB were seen in the preterm, multi gravid, and unbooked mothers. Advanced age, HTN, infection, abruption, history of fever were found to be risk factors. Almost 75% of babies were LBW and 33.6% of cases were found to have IUGR compared to controls (p = 0.001). There was no significant association with BMI, socioeconomic status, Anemia, GDM, PROM. Conclusion: UT achieved the target SB rate and further reduction is possible in the presence of risk factors with regular antenatal checkups with timely interventions whenever necessary.