Stillbirths from Year 2067 BS to 2076 BS in Western Regional Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Objective: A stillbirth is the birth of a baby born with no signs of life at or after 22 weeks gestation, but often using 28 weeks or more in less developed health systems. The aim of this study was to assess the rate of stillbirth from the year 2067 BS to 2076 BS (Nepali calendar) at a tertiary care hospital in Pokhara, Nepal and describe stillbirth by selected background characteristics. Methodology: This is a Retrospective Descriptive Study on SB trend during a decade. The details for birth were only available for SB thus restricting risk analysis, but the total number of deliveries including live births were also collected. The trend of SB rate was calculated and analysed by year and month during the past decade of Nepali calendar. The SB rate was described by cross tabulation with sociodemographic and obstetric determinants. Results: There were total 1204 mothers who got a stillbirth among which 1167 were singleton pregnancies and 37 were twin pregnancies. The rate of stillbirth in Western Regional Hospital has increased by more than 2% in year 2076 BS (13.8%; 95% CI 11-16) from year 2067 BS (11.4%; 95% CI 9-13) with some fluctuations within the decade. The stillbirth rate was also described analysed by some background characteristics of mothers, child, and proportion of low birthweight by different variables including gestational age, sex of the baby, season, ethnicity, and maternal age. Conclusion: In our study, we found that the SB rate varied by year and season and increased during the past decade. These variations may also reflect the external factors.