Lifestyle and sociodemographic risk factors for stillbirth by region of residence in South Australia: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Stillbirth rates remain a global priority and in Australia, progress has been slow. Risk factors of stillbirth are unique in Australia due to large areas of remoteness, and limited resource availability affecting the ability to identify areas of need and prevalence of factors associated with stillbirth. This retrospective cohort study describes lifestyle and sociodemographic factors associated with stillbirth in South Australia (SA), between 1998 and 2016. METHODS: All restigered births in SA between 1998 ad 2016 are included. The primary outcome was stillbirth (birth with no signs of life ≥ 20 weeks gestation or ≥ 400 g if gestational age was not reported). Associations between stillbirth and lifestyle and sociodemographic factors were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression and described using adjusted odds ratios (aORs). RESULTS: A total of 363,959 births (including 1767 stillbirths) were included. Inadequate antenatal care access (assessed against the Australian Pregnancy Care Guidelines) was associated with the highest odds of stillbirth (aOR 3.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.41-4.52). Other factors with important associations with stillbirth were plant/machine operation (aOR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.16-2.45), birthing person age ≥ 40 years (aOR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.50-2.45), partner reported as a pensioner (aOR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.12-2.99), Asian country of birth (aOR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.19-2.10) and Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander status (aOR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.20-1.88). The odds of stillbirth were increased in regional/remote areas in association with inadequate antenatal care (aOR, 4.64; 95% CI, 2.98-7.23), birthing age 35-40 years (aOR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.02-3.64), Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status (aOR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.12-3.21), paternal occupations: tradesperson (aOR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.17-6.16) and unemployment (aOR, 4.06; 95% CI, 1.41-11.73). CONCLUSION: Factors identified as independently associated with stillbirth odds include factors that could be addressed through timely access to adequate antenatal care and are likely relevant throughout Australia. The identified factors should be the target of stillbirth prevention strategies/efforts. SThe stillbirth rate in Australia is a national concern. Reducing preventable stillbirths remains a global priority.

Looking after bubba for all our mob: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community experiences and perceptions of stillbirth.

The stillbirth rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and communities in Australia is around double that of non-Indigenous women. While the development of effective prevention strategies during pregnancy and improving care following stillbirth for women and families in communities has become a national priority, there has been limited progress in stillbirth disparities. With community permission, this study aimed to gain a better understanding of community experiences, perceptions, and priorities around stillbirth. We undertook an Indigenous researcher-led, qualitative study, with community consultations guided by a cultural protection protocol and within an unstructured research framework. A total of 18 communities were consulted face-to-face through yarning interviews, focus groups and workshops. This included 54 community member and 159 health professional participants across remote, regional, and urban areas of Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia, and Northern Territory. Thematic analysis of consultation data identified common themes across five focus/priority areas to address stillbirth: Stillbirth or Sorry Business Baby care needs to be family-centered; using Indigenous "ways of knowing, being, and doing" to ensure cultural safety; application of Birthing on Country principles to maternal and perinatal care; and yarning approaches to improve communication and learning or education. The results underscore the critical need to co-design evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and community-acceptable resources to help reduce existing disparities in stillbirth rates.

Protocol for the development and validation of a risk prediction model for stillbirths from 35 weeks gestation in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in the care of women and their babies in the past century, an estimated 1.7 million babies are born still each year throughout the world. A robust method to estimate a pregnant woman's individualized risk of late-pregnancy stillbirth is needed to inform decision-making around the timing of birth to reduce the risk of stillbirth from 35 weeks of gestation in Australia, a high-resource setting. METHODS: This is a protocol for a cross-sectional study of all late-pregnancy births in Australia (2005-2015) from 35 weeks of gestation including 5188 stillbirths among 3.1 million births at an estimated rate of 1.7 stillbirths per 1000 births. A multivariable logistic regression model will be developed in line with current Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis or Diagnosis (TRIPOD) guidelines to estimate the gestation-specific probability of stillbirth with prediction intervals. Candidate predictors were identified from systematic reviews and clinical consultation and will be described through univariable regression analysis. To generate a final model, elimination by backward stepwise multivariable logistic regression will be performed. The model will be internally validated using bootstrapping with 1000 repetitions and externally validated using a temporally unique dataset. Overall model performance will be assessed with R2, calibration, and discrimination. Calibration will be reported using a calibration plot with 95% confidence intervals (α = 0.05). Discrimination will be measured by the C-statistic and area underneath the receiver-operator curves. Clinical usefulness will be reported as positive and negative predictive values, and a decision curve analysis will be considered. DISCUSSION: A robust method to predict a pregnant woman's individualized risk of late-pregnancy stillbirth is needed to inform timely, appropriate care to reduce stillbirth. Among existing prediction models designed for obstetric use, few have been subject to internal and external validation and many fail to meet recommended reporting standards. In developing a risk prediction model for late-gestation stillbirth with both providers and pregnant women in mind, we endeavor to develop a validated model for clinical use in Australia that meets current reporting standards.

A Randomized Trial of Prenatal n-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Preterm Delivery.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that maternal supplementation with n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids may reduce the incidence of preterm delivery but may also prolong gestation beyond term; however, more data are needed regarding the role of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in pregnancy. METHODS: We performed a multicenter, double-blind, randomized trial in which women who were pregnant with single or multiple fetuses were assigned to receive either fish-oil capsules that contained 900 mg of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 group) or vegetable-oil capsules that contained trace n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (control group) daily, beginning before 20 weeks of gestation and continuing to 34 weeks of gestation or delivery, whichever occurred first. The primary outcome was early preterm delivery, defined as delivery before 34 completed weeks of gestation. Other pregnancy and neonatal outcomes were also assessed. RESULTS: A total of 5544 pregnancies in 5517 women were randomly assigned at six centers in Australia; 5486 pregnancies were included in the primary analysis. Early preterm delivery occurred in the case of 61 of 2734 pregnancies (2.2%) in the n-3 group and 55 of 2752 pregnancies (2.0%) in the control group; the between-group difference was not significant (adjusted relative risk, 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79 to 1.63; P = 0.50). There were no significant differences between the groups in the incidence of interventions in post-term (>41 weeks of gestation) deliveries, in adverse events, or in other pregnancy or neonatal outcomes, except that a higher percentage of infants born to women in the n-3 group than in the control group were very large for gestational age at birth (adjusted relative risk, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.65). Percentages of serious adverse events did not differ between the groups. Minor gastrointestinal disturbances were more commonly reported in the n-3 group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Supplementation with n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids from early pregnancy (<20 weeks of gestation) until 34 weeks of gestation did not result in a lower incidence of early preterm delivery or a higher incidence of interventions in post-term deliveries than control. (Funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and the Thyne Reid Foundation; ORIP Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12613001142729.).

Inter-observer and intra-observer reliability of mechanical axis alignment before and after total knee arthroplasty using long leg radiographs.

BACKGROUND: Long leg radiographs (LLRs) are commonly performed for assessment of mechanical alignment and operative planning in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The aim of this study was to determine the inter- and intra-observer reliability of alignment measured by observers of different levels of experience. METHODS: Forty patients on the waiting list for a TKA had pre- and post-operative standardised LLRs. We analysed the measurements of mechanical axis alignment between an orthopaedic surgeon, a senior orthopaedic registrar, a junior orthopaedic registrar, and a medical student. Reviewers performed blinded measurements on the same computer screen. These measurements were repeated three months later to assess intra-observer reliability. Furthermore high-resolution screens were compared with standard hospital computer screens to investigate whether monitoring quality influenced the accuracy of measurements of alignment. RESULTS: Inter-observer reliability was high for pre-operative LLRs with an intra-class correlation (ICC) of >0.9 at all experience levels. Post-operative ICC was lowest between the surgeon and the medical student at 0.7. Intra-observer reliability was high at all experience levels. Larger deformities appeared to have exaggerated measurements for both pre- and post-operative images. There appeared to be no effect of the monitor size and quality on the accuracy of measurement. CONCLUSIONS: Long leg radiographs can be used to measure mechanical axis alignment with strong reliability across different levels of experience. This information is important for the evaluation of knee alignment measurements in current clinical practice, to assess severity of deformity and to accompany pre-operative planning and post-operative evaluation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.