Abstract :
Background: Perinatal mortality remains high in developing countries, including Yemen. However, information on perinatal mortality in Yemen is lacking. This study aimed to find out the perinatal mortality rate in Aden General Hospital and to analyze the causes of perinatal mortality. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Aden General Hospital during the period from January 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004. It was a retrospective study for the first 6 months (January–June 2003) and prospective for the remaining period (July 2003–June 2004). Results: During the study period from January 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004, there were a total of 3770 births at Aden General Hospital, out of which there were 2976 births during the period from January to December 2003 and a further 794 births in the 6-month period from January to June 2004. The perinatal deaths were 166 (4.4%) giving a perinatal mortality rate of 44/1000 normal deliveries. Further analysis showed a total of 105 perinatal deaths in 2003 with a perinatal mortality rate of 35.3/1000 normal deliveries and 61 deaths in the period from January to June 2004 with a rate of 77/1000 normal deliveries. Unclassified deaths including premature cases accounted for 29% (n=48) of all causes, followed by mechanical causes 36 (21.7%). The mechanical causes are divided as follows, 33 (19. 9%) due to fetal distress and 3 (1.8%) due to breech presentation. Uncertain origin causes accounted for 19.3% (n=32) of all cases of death and toxemia was observed in 16 cases (9.6%), while malformation was found in 13 (7.8%) cases. Conclusion: The perinatal mortality rate in our center was 44/1000 deliveries. The major cause of perinatal mortality was prematurity, followed by mechanical causes. The most of the mortalities occurred outside the health facilities (extra-hospital).
Keyword :
Extra-hospital delivery, Perinatal mortality rate, Perinatal mortality, Premature delivery