Abstract
Perinatal and neonatal mortality rates have been described as sensitive indices of the quality of health care services. Regular audits of perinatal and neonatal mortalities are desirable to evaluate the various global interventions. To describe the current pattern of perinatal and neonatal mortality in a Nigerian tertiary health facility. Using a prospective audit method, the socio-demographic parameters of all perinatal and neonatal deaths recorded in a Nigerian tertiary facility between February 2017 and January 2018 were studied. There were 1,019 deliveries with stillbirth rate of 27.5/1000 total births and early neonatal death (END) rate among in-born babies of 27.2/1000 live births. The overall perinatal mortality rate for in-facility deliveries was 53.9/1000 total births and neonatal mortality (till the end of 28 days) rate of 27.2/1000 live births. Severe perinatal asphyxia and prematurity were the leading causes of neonatal deaths while obstructed labour and intra-partum eclampsia were the two leading maternal conditions related to stillbirths (25.0% and 21.4% respectively).Gestational age < 32 weeks, age < 24 hours and inborn status were significantly associated with END (p = 0.002, p <0.001 and p = 0.002 respectively). The in-facility perinatal mortality rate was high though stillbirth rate was relatively low. There is a need to improve the quality of emergency obstetric and neonatal services prior to referral to tertiary facilities.
Highlights
Perinatal mortality, which refers to the death of a fetus after the age of viability and neonatal deaths within the first seven days of life, is a crucial measure of the quality and degree of utilization of obstetric and immediate post-birth neonatal care services[1]
A total of 1019 deliveries were recorded in the hospital during the period of study; these comprised 991 live births and 28 stillbirths
The overall perinatal mortality rate of 53.9/1000 total births obtained in the present study was remarkably lower than 119.9/1000 total births reported at the same centre more than two decades ago[10]
Summary
Perinatal mortality, which refers to the death of a fetus after the age of viability and neonatal deaths within the first seven days of life, is a crucial measure of the quality and degree of utilization of obstetric and immediate post-birth neonatal care services[1]. The overall intra-facility perinatal mortality rate was 119.9/1000 total births with stillbirth rate of 87.5/1000 total births and early neonatal death rate of 35.5/1000 live births[10]. The objective of the present study was to describe the current pattern of perinatal and neonatal mortality in this Nigerian tertiary health facility, more than a decade after the last retrospective audit. Objective: To describe the current pattern of perinatal and neonatal mortality in a Nigerian tertiary health facility. Results: There were 1,019 deliveries with stillbirth rate of 27.5/1000 total births and early neonatal death (END) rate among in-born babies of 27.2/1000 live births. The overall perinatal mortality rate for in-facility deliveries was 53.9/1000 total births and neonatal mortality (till the end of 28 days) rate of 27.2/1000 live births.
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