Maternal risk factors of perinatal mortality in Duhok

Abstract EN

Background: Perinatal mortality (PM) rate is an important index of community health condition.

A high-risk pregnancy is one that threatens the health or the life of the mother and her fetus, during or after the pregnancy and birth.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the etiological maternal risk factors and other causes that lead to PM, to calculate the PM rate (PMR) in maternity hospital in Duhok, and to compare it with the previous rates, and to find out the relationship between maternal sociodemographic and obstetrics variables with PMR.

Materials and Methods: During the study, which was from January to December 2013, the total deliveries were 20281, and the perinatal deaths were 496 cases.

Results: The PMR was (24.5%/1000 births), the number of early neonatal deaths were 268 (54%), and it is higher than stillbirths deaths (fresh and macerated).

The most common causes and associated risk factors behind the fresh stillbirths (30.5%).

Macerated stillbirths 77 (15.5%), were the main causes of death.

The most causes of early neonatal deaths were birth asphyxia (36.6%) and prematurity (34.3%).

It was found that most important maternal risk factors for PM are preeclampsia, and obstructed labor.

The results of the study revealed a significant association between mother’s level of education, occupation, residential area, antenatal care, gestational age, parity, and PM, but revealed a nonsignificant association between the mother’s age and PM.

Conclusions: There was a significant relation between maternal risk factors and PM, the early diagnosis of these risk factors decreased the PM.

The PMR was 24.5/1000 total births in 2013, at a maternity hospital in Duhok, It was lower than that of 2004 and 2005.

Most of the PM were in the groups of poor antenatal care and their residence from the rural area.