Trends in Term Intrapartum Stillbirth in Norway.

Importance: Fetal death during labor at term is a complication that is rarely studied in high-income countries. There is a need for large population-based studies to examine the rate of term intrapartum stillbirth in high-income countries and the factors associated with its occurrence. Objective: To evaluate trends in term intrapartum stillbirth over time and to investigate the association between the trends and term intrapartum stillbirth risk factors from 1999 to 2018 in Norway. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study used data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway from 1999 to 2018 to examine rates of term intrapartum stillbirth and risk factors associated with this event. A population of 1 021 268 term singleton pregnancies without congenital anomalies or antepartum stillbirths was included in analyses, which were performed from September 2022 to February 2023. Exposure: The main exposure variable was time, which was divided into four 5-year periods: 1999 to 2003, 2004 to 2008, 2009 to 2013, and 2014 to 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary study outcome was term intrapartum stillbirth. Risk ratios were calculated, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with secular trends of term intrapartum stillbirth. Results: The study population consisted of 1 021 268 term singleton births (maternal mean [SD] age, 29.72 [5.01] years; mean [SD] gestational age, 39.69 [1.27] weeks). During the study period, there were 95 term intrapartum stillbirths (0.09 per 1000 births). Maternal age, the proportion of individuals born in a country other than Norway, and the prevalence of gestational diabetes, labor induction, operative vaginal delivery, and previous cesarean delivery increased over the course of the study period. Conversely, the prevalence of infants large for gestational age, hypertensive disorder in pregnancy, and spontaneous vaginal delivery and the proportion of individuals who smoked decreased. The term intrapartum stillbirth rate decreased by 87% (95% CI, 68%-95%) from 0.15 per 1000 births in 1999 to 2008 to 0.02 per 1000 births in 2014 to 2018. Three in 4 term intrapartum stillbirths (70 of 95) occurred during intrapartum operative deliveries. The increased prevalence of older maternal age and obstetric risk factors were not associated with the variation in intrapartum stillbirth rates among the time periods. The prevalence of term intrapartum stillbirth was higher for individuals who gave birth in maternity units with fewer than 3000 annual births (adjusted odds ratio, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.07-2.61) than for those who gave birth in units with 3000 or more annual births. Conclusions and Relevance: Findings of this study suggest that, despite increases in maternal and obstetric risk factors, term intrapartum stillbirth rates substantially decreased during the study period. Reasons for this decrease may be due to improvements in intrapartum care.

Different pathways for preterm birth between singleton and twin pregnancies: a population-based registry study of 481 176 nulliparous women.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the contribution of pregnancy-related complications on the prevalence of extremely, very and late preterm births in singleton and twin pregnancies. To study the risk of spontaneous preterm birth in twin pregnancies compared with singleton pregnancies. DESIGN: Population-based registry study. SETTING: Medical birth registry of Norway and Statistics Norway. POPULATION: Nulliparous women with singleton (n = 472 449) or twin (n = 8727) births during 1999-2018. METHODS: Prevalence rates of pregnancy-related complications for extremely, very and late preterm birth in twin and singleton pregnancies were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. Multivariable logistic regression was applied to assess odds ratios for preterm birth, adjusted for obstetric and socio-economic factors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Extremely preterm (<28+0  weeks of gestation), very preterm (28+0 -33+6  weeks of gestation) and late preterm (34+0 -36+6  weeks of geatation) birth. RESULTS: Preterm birth was significantly more prevalent in twin pregnancies than in singleton pregnancies in all categories: all preterm (54.7% vs 6.1%), extremely preterm (3.6% vs 0.4%), very preterm (18.2% vs 1.4%) and late preterm (33.0% vs 4.3%) births. Stillbirth, congenital malformation and pre-eclampsia were more prevalent in twin pregnancies than in singleton pregnancies, but the prevalence of complications differed in the three categories of preterm birth. Pre-eclampsia was more prevalent in singleton than in twin pregnancies ending in extremely and very preterm birth. The adjusted odds of spontaneous preterm live birth were between 19- and 54-fold greater in twin pregnancies than in singleton pregnancies. CONCLUSIONS: Singleton and twin pregnancies seem to have different pathways leading to extremely, very and late preterm birth.

Food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis during pregnancy. / Matavhengig treningsindusert anafylaksi under graviditet.

Pregnant women with rare comorbid diagnoses need a safe delivery plan. This case report describes labour and delivery in a patient with food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis.

Adverse perinatal outcomes in 665,244 term and post-term deliveries-a Norwegian population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in early-term (37+0-38+6 weeks), full-term (39+0-40+6 weeks), late-term (41+0-41+6 weeks), and post-term (>42+0 weeks) deliveries with spontaneous labor onset. STUDY DESIGN: A population-based cohort with data from the Medical Birth Registry Norway (MBRN) and Statistics Norway (SSB) was conducted. The study population consisted of 665,244 women with cephalic singleton live births at term or post-term with spontaneous labor onset during the period of 1999-2014 in Norway. Maternal, obstetric, and fetal characteristics were obtained from the MBRN. Maternal education data were obtained from the SSB. The prevalence rates of adverse perinatal outcomes for each gestational age (GA) group were estimated. Inter-group differences were detected with Chi square tests. Multivariable regression analysis adjusted for maternal age, educational level, smoking, parity, maternal diabetes, and preeclampsia was used to assess adverse outcome prevalence for early- late-, and post-term births compared to full-term births. RESULTS: Deliveries at early-term were associated with an increased prevalence of neonatal jaundice, polyhydramnios, small for gestational age (SGA) status, respiratory support, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission compared with deliveries at GAs of 39-43 weeks (p < 0.001). Low 5-min Apgar scores and newborn antibiotic treatment occurred at an increased prevalence in both early-term and post-term infants, relative to the full-term group (p < 0.001). The prevalence of oligohydramnios, meconium-stained amniotic fluid, and newborn birth injuries increased with increasing GA. CONCLUSIONS: More perinatal morbidity was observed among early-term infants compared to infants with later term deliveries, underscoring the need for cautious management of low-risk early-term deliveries.

Prevalence and risk of pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension in twin pregnancies: a population-based register study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and risk of pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension in twin pregnancies compared with singleton pregnancies. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. SETTING: Medical Birth Registry of Norway and Statistics Norway. PARTICIPANTS: 929 963 deliveries with 16 174 twin pregnancies in 1999-2014. METHODS: Pre-eclampsia prevalences in twin and singleton pregnancies were described in percentages. Multivariable regression analyses were performed to assess the risks of pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension in twin pregnancies compared with those in singleton pregnancies, adjusted for previously known risk factors. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence and risk of pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension. RESULTS: The prevalence of pre-eclampsia in the study population was 3.7% (3.4% in singleton pregnancies, 11.8% in twin pregnancies (p=0.001)). The OR for pre-eclampsia in twin pregnancies was three to fourfold compared with singleton pregnancies (OR 3.78; 95% CI 3.59 to 3.96). After adjustment for known risk factors, twin pregnancy remained an independent risk factor for pre-eclampsia (adjusted OR 4.07; 95% CI 3.65 to 4.54). The prevalence of gestational hypertension was 1.7% in women with singleton pregnancies and 2.2% in those with twin pregnancies (OR 1.27; 95% CI 1.14 to 1.41). After adjustment for known risk factors, gestational hypertension was not significantly associated with twin pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of pre-eclampsia in twin pregnancies was three to fourfold compared with singleton pregnancies, regardless of maternal age, parity, educational level, smoking, maternal comorbidity or in vitro fertilisation. The risk of gestational hypertension was not increased in women with twin pregnancies after adjustment for the main risk factors.

Maternal body mass index as a predictor for delivery method.

INTRODUCTION: High maternal body mass index (BMI) is associated with complications during pregnancy and delivery such as gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, perineal injuries and macrosomia. The aim of this study was to assess the association between maternal BMI and delivery method in non-breech, singleton deliveries, after 36 weeks of gestation, in women with no more than one previous cesarean section, in Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective register study used data from the hospital obstetrical database in 2011-2012, forming a cohort of 8821 women. Women were categorized into five different BMI classes and stratified into subgroups according to parity and previous cesarean delivery. Mode of delivery was categorized to spontaneous delivery, instrumental vaginal delivery, planned cesarean section and emergency cesarean section. RESULTS: Incidence of emergency cesarean delivery increased with increasing maternal BMI. Among primiparous women with overweight or obesity, the caesarean delivery rate was doubled (23.2 and 29.1%, respectively), compared with women with underweight or normal weight (12.5 and 13.7%). Also among parous women, maternal BMI ≥30 doubled the risk for cesarean delivery. The strongest risk factor for planned or emergency cesarean delivery was previous cesarean section [adjusted odds ratio 16.41 (confidence interval 12.19-22.08) and 8.72 (6.33-12.02), respectively]. Maternal BMI ≥30 increased the risk of planned cesarean delivery by 77%, and doubled the risk of emergency cesarean delivery. CONCLUSIONS: Prepregnancy BMI ≥30 was an independent risk factor for delivery by emergency cesarean section for both primiparous and parous women.