Article Text
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the association of fetal weight with stillbirth at a major tertiary center. This was a population based cohort study. Deliveries (n=38 597) between January 2000 and January 2008 were identified from the maternity database. 310 cases of stillbirths were identified and pregnancy details obtained from the delivery suite register and obstetric notes. During the study period the stillbirth rate was 8.03 per 1000 (310/38 587). The incidence of appropriate for gestational age (AGA) fetuses (excluding structural malformation, aneuploidy, multiple pregnancy, maternal complications and infection) was 30.3% (94/310) compared with 27.1% (84/310) in SGA stillbirth cohort (84/310). More than half of the AGA cohort (48/94, 51.1%) occurred in late gestation (>32 weeks). The majority of stillbirths in the AGA cohort were unexplained. In conclusion, stillbirth occurs at least as frequently in appropriately grown fetuses as it does in small for gestational age babies. More investigation is required to elucidate the aetiology of stillbirth in this group.