RESUMO
Despite improvements in antenatal care, the perinatal mortality in the Sultanate of Oman remains high compared to the developed countries. This study was aimed at the identification of rates, causes and risk factors affecting the perinatal mortality at Khoula Hospital in Muscat region. The study covered 100 stillbirths and 60 neonatal deaths from January 1999 through December 2001, out of a total of 10,896 babies born in this hospital during this period. The still birth rate was 10.7 per thousand births and early neonatal death rate was 5.5 per thousand live births with an overall perinatal mortality rate of 16.2 per 1000 births. The major risk factors identified were maternal morbidity in the form of diabetes, toxemia and hypertension, rural hospital care and male sex. 39% stillbirths were fresh and 59% babies weighed more than 2 kilograms. 48% were of more than 37 weeks gestation. 77% mothers were between 20 to 35 years of age. 68% mothers had more than 6 antenatal visits and 76% mothers visited for antenatal care in the first trimester with 88% visiting the hospital at least once during the last 4 weeks of pregnancy. The main reasons for early neonatal deaths were gross prematurity, pulmonary hypoplasia secondary to congenital renal anomalies, and multiple congenital anomalies with 25% babies weighing less than 750 grams. Conclusions: Stillbirths occur with equal frequency in all age groups of mothers in our region. There is a trend towards a decrease in the still birth rate, which is the main contributor to a high perinatal mortality rate in this region. Improvements in antenatal care during the last 4 weeks of pregnancy in moribund mothers and icreasing support for the gross preterm babies will lead to a marked improvement in perinatal mortality rates