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Can Anything Be Done About Mid‐Trimester Fetal Wastage?
Author(s) -
Fliegner John R. H.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.1987.tb00987.x
Subject(s) - medicine , obstetrics , antepartum haemorrhage , obstructed labour , pregnancy , perinatal mortality , premature rupture of membranes , congenital malformations , gestation , preterm labour , fetus , pediatrics , biology , caesarean section , genetics
Summary: In Victoria in the triennium 1982–1984, perinatal losses between 22 and 28 weeks' gestation accounted for 32% of the overall perinatal wastage of 12.7 per 1,000 births. Over the same period only 1.2% of babies were delivered weighing less than 1,500g, but this group made up 40% of the total stillbirths and 50% of the neonatal deaths. By contrast the perinatal wastage was only 7 per 1,000 births in babies born weighing more than 1,500g and this included lethal congenital malformations. The major antenatal risk factors contributing to the high mid‐trimester fetal wastage were premature labour (17.7%), multiple pregnancy (13.9%), cervical incompetence (12.9%), antepartum haemorrhage (12.9%), premature rupture of the membranes (11.5%), lethal congenital malformations (10.6%) and hypertensive disorders (7.4%). Cognizant of the frequency of preventable factors, the Consultative Council on Maternal and Perinatal Mortality and Morbidity in Victoria recommends that, where feasible, the mother of these high‐risk pregnancies be transferred to a centre where facilities are available to monitor the pregnancy and labour, and which offers intensive care facilities for the baby.