Introduction: Intrauterine fetal death after 20 weeks of gestation is a pregnancy-related problem. The rate of stillbirth in each area is an indicator of health status and prenatal care in that specific region. In different countries, the rate of stillbirth has been reported as 4 to 20 per 1000 births. Several factors contribute to the occurance of stillbirth including timely identification and intervention. This study aimed to investigate the causes of stillbirth in Kalat city during 2009-2012.
Methods: In this retrospective, descriptive study, the population included all pregnant women, who experienced stillbirth during their term delivery. Data were collected by interviewing the parents, reviewing the health records, and completing the standard questionnaires.
Results: Findings indicated that 81% of expecting mothers experienced stillbirth, and 18.7% of them lived in villages. Overall, 75% and 25% of the mothers were within the age range of 18-35 and > 35 years, respectively. In this study, 62.5% of the mothers had received prenatal care and 12.5% of the subjects had experienced stillbirth; also, 18.7% and 6.2% of the mothers had (at least) one and two abortions, respectively. The sex ratio of stillbirths were against and 50%. In total, 18.7% of women did not consume supplements during pregnancy. The causes of mothers’ admission to healthcare centers were fetal movement reduction (or lack of it) in 31.2% of the cases, spotting or bleeding in 25% of the cases, onset of labor in 18.7% of the cases, abdominal pain in 6.2% of the mothers, and seizures in 6.2% of the mothers; also, in 25% of the cases, the cause of admission was uncertain. Causes of stillbirth included eclampsia (12%), meconium aspiration (13%), hypertensive disorders (19%), detachment (18%) and 38% were unknown.
Conclusion:Based on the findings, fetal or neonatal death has psychological consequences for families. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality of prenatal care and familiarize mothers with the risk factors during pregnancy.