Prevalence and etiology of stillbirth in three university hospitals in Mashhad

Introduction: Prevalence of stillbirth is available item for prenatal care. Its prevalence is different in other region of the worlds because of definition and data connection. Prevalence of stillbirth is less than 1% in developed countries and developing countries 3%. The regular attention to prenatal care is essential for reducing stillbirth prevalence. The aim of study was to determine prevalence and cause of stillbirth in three university hospital in Mashhad. Methods: in a respective study all document of stillbirth was recorded in three hospital affiliated to Mashhad university of medical science for one year. Recorded data including maternal age, weight, sex and appearance of fetus and cause of stillbirth. Data was analyses by spss software . Results: During one year from 11000 deliveries in these three hospitals there were 260 stillbirths (23 in 1000 deliveries).the cause of stillbirth was isolated hypertension 19.6%, hypertension with other cause 10.4%, premature rupture of membrane 7.6%, preterm delivery 6%, diabetes 3.2, placenta abruption 2.8%, incompetence cervix 1.2%, maternal illness 7.2% and others respectively.  Stillbirth was more in primipara and decreased with increasing parity. Stillbirth was more in less than 35 years old mothers (81% vs. 19%). Conclusion: Prevalence of stillbirth in this study was the same as south Asian countries. The most common cause was hypertension. Therefore as 40% of stillbirths are because of controllable cause of hypertension, prematurity and diabetes, pay attention to these three etiologies in prenatal care services can easily reduce stillbirth.