ABSTRACT
PIP: This article reports on a retrospective study of perinatal deaths in an Egyptian maternity hospital during a 21 month period from March 1977 to November 1978. 6990 babies were delivered in the hospital during the study period. A special precoded maternity record was filled in for each mother. It included detailed information on the social and medical aspects of the mother and the delivery. Another form was filled in for all the perinatal deaths and included a detailed description of possible causes of death together with results of post-mortem examinations when available. The perinatal mortality rates reported in this study are quite high, particularly among patients who start labor at home and come the the hospital when labor is prolonged or complicated. Moreover, 62% of these patients were non-literate and 71.2% had received no antenatal care. Among the various biosocial factors studied, maternal age and education are found to have the most impact on the prevalence of perinatal deaths. Incidence of perinatal mortality was nearly doubled in the cases referred by the Dayas (traditional birth attendants) when compared with booked cases; and 1 1/2 times that of cases referred by a physician. The availability of antenatal care and the hemoglobin % were found to affect perinatal mortality. A higher rate of perinatal mortality was found in women with previous still births, 2 or more spontaneous abortions, a perterm delivery or more than 3 deliveries. The study confirms the findings of other researchers that duration of pregnancy is an important factor in deciding perinatal outcome. Higher mortality rates occurred in preterm and post-term deliveries. In addition, duration of labor and type of delivery together with the time of rupture of membranes are found to affect perinatal outcomes.^ieng
