Maternal and neonatal determinants of perinatal mortality in selected tertiary care hospital of North Karnataka

INTRODUCTION: Goal 3 of sustainable development aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all people of all ages. One of the components for achieving this objective is the improvement of maternal and child health, with the perinatal mortality (PM) rate serving as an indicator. This study aimed to know the probable cause of perinatal death at a medical center of tertiary care to reduce the incidence of perinatal death and enhance the quality of care. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to study the incidence and associated risk factors of PM in a selected tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective case series study was conducted from August 2019 to September 2021 among all pregnant mothers who delivered in selected tertiary care hospitals of Belagavi city among 3508 participants. RESULTS: In the present study, results revealed that 29 per 1000 births and 7.12 per 1000 live births of END. The incidence of PM was 36.48 per 1000 births in the present study. There was a positive correlation between maternal weight in kg versus the birth weight of the baby (R = 0.091, P < 0.001). Results inferred that maternal anemia, antepartum hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, thyroid disorders, amniotic fluid infections, and placental insufficiency were identified as primary causes of stillbirth. CONCLUSION: There is a region-wise wide variation in the rate of PM. There was an inverse relationship between birth weight and stillbirth, neonatal death, and perinatal death rate. Low birth weight babies contributed more than three times to stillbirths, early neonatal deaths, and perinatal deaths as compared to babies with normal birth weight.