Maternal and neonatal factors associated with perinatal deaths in a district hospital in the Free State

Abstract

Perinatal mortality refers to the stillbirth of baby and a baby's death up to one week after birth. The purpose of the current study was to identify maternal and neonatal factors associated with perinatal deaths in one selected district hospital in the Free State Province of South Africa. Most births and neonatal deaths occur in district hospitals, explaining the rationale for selecting a district hospital as the study site. A quantitative retrospective descriptive design was utilised. Ex post facto data were collected from the Perinatal Problem Identification Programme's (PPIP's) data collection tool. An additional MSExcel data collection instrument was developed to transfer specific data elements from the PIPP data base to the MSExcel data instrument to facilitate the data analysis. At the participating hospital, 2319 neonates were born during 2015 comprising the study's population. A random sample of 384 live neonates and an all-inclusive sample of 43 dead neonates were included in the current study's data collection procedures. Descriptive statistics were calculated and Cohen's effect sizes-d (for continuous variables) as well as phi-coefficients (for categorical variables) were calculated to determine practically significant differences between the variables for neonates in the alive and dead groups respectively. A logistical regression analysis, to determine the major factors associated with neonatal deaths, was also compiled. The SAS (2016) statistical program was used to analyse the data. These analyses indicated that the neonates' Apgar scores 10 minutes after birth, gestational age, weight at birth and the parity of the mother were the most practically significant indicators of neonates' chances to live or die. The study's findings supported the assumption that practically significant factors are associated with maternal and neonatal factors that contribute to perinatal deaths.