Risk factors associated with stillbirths in tertiary care hospital of bundelkh and region

Background & Objective: Stillbirth is the most prevalent adverse outcome of pregnancy and devastating experience for parents as well as obstetricians. Due to India's highest contribution to the global burden of stillbirth, identifying and preventing modifiable risk factors of stillbirth is crucial. The objective of the study was to assess the various risk factors associated with stillbirths in tertiary hospital of Bundelkhand region. Material and Methods: A retrospective cohort study conducted in M.L.B. Medical College, Jhansi. All the deliveries conducted from Jan 2023 to Dec 2023 were included and assessed. For identification of cases, WHO definition of stillbirth is considered. Risk factors were derived from maternal characteristics, past medical history, pregnancy complications, intrapartum details and fetal characteristics. Result: A total of 3721 births in the tertiary care hospital, out of them 159 were stillbirths. The stillbirth rate accounts 42.73 per 1000 total births. The mean age of cases is 26.4±4.4 years. From 159 stilbirths, 125 (78.59%) were unbooked cases and 91(56.92%) were delivered by cesarean delivery. Half of these stillbirths (50.0%) occurred at 28- <37 weeks of gestation. 21.38% of stillbirths are due to small for gestational age followed by congenital anomaly and anemia which counts 20.75% and 20.13% respectively. 42.18% stillbirths were extremely low birth weight (ELVW), 30(18.57%) stillbirths were very low birth weight (VLBW). Conclusion: Preterm labor, anemia, congenital anomaly hypertensive disorder of pregnancy were highly associated with stillbirths in this study. All the risk factors can be minimized by early and timely screening for prompt detection and timely intervention will be barrier in stillbirths.