Conference abstract
Analysis of stillbirths surveillance data in Shama District, Western Region, Ghana, 2015
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2017:3(1).10
Oct 2017.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2017.3.1.116
Archived on: 10 Oct 2017
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Stillbirth, perinatal mortality, surveillance data
Oral presentation
Analysis of stillbirths surveillance data in Shama District, Western Region, Ghana, 2015
Akua Boadiwaa Amoh-Yeboah1,&, Daniel Agudey1,2, Kofi Mensah Nyarko3
1Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Program, Ghana, 2Ghana Health Service, Ghana, 3Namibia FETP, Namibia
&Corresponding author
Akua Boadiwaa Amoh-Yeboah, Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Programme, Accra, Ghana
Introduction: stillbirth accounts for more than half of perinatal mortality in developing countries. In Ghana stillbirth rate is 24 per 1000 deliveries. Even though stillbirths represent a large proportion of perinatal mortality, causes are poorly understood and it remains unstudied in Ghana. We analyzed existing surveillance data to determine the trends of stillbirths in Shama district.
Methods: a retrospective cross-sectional review of all stillbirths in Shama district from 2010-2014 was conducted. Socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric factors of mothers and vital status of each baby at birth in the delivery registers were reviewed. Also total deliveries and stillbirths documented in the Health Information System were extracted. Monthly and annual reports were also reviewed. Data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel and described by time, place and person.
Results: of the 8,039 deliveries that met the inclusion criteria, 143 were stillbirths constituting 17.8 per 1000 births. Stillbirth rates increased steadily within the study period. 58.4% (85/) 143 stillbirths were macerated. Majority (56%) of the stillbirths were males, 59% of the stillbirths had normal birth weight between 2.5kg -3.5kg. Sixty-eight percent occurred within the gestational age 34-38 weeks. In the study, (55.7%) of mothers with stillborn were in the age groups 25-29 and 30-34 years, 80% of the mothers had previously delivered between 0-3 children while 32% were nulliparous. Ninety percent of the stillbirths were by Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery.
Conclusion: stillbirth rates have been increasing steadily over the years with macerated stillbirths on the rise. Based on this evidence, pregnant women must be educated to seek antenatal care, intensify focused antenatal, timely emergency care and improving the quality of obstetric care during labour and delivery. Stillbirth audits must also be enforced to help ascertain the causes of stillbirths in the district.
