Hospital setting and fetal death during labor among women at low risk

Intrapartum fetal death in low-risk women at term is a rare obstetric outcome. This is difficult to study because few data sets contain an adequate number of cases for meaningful analysis. This study used data from the 1980 National Natality Survey and National Fetal Mortality Survey, merged with an American Hospital Association annual survey for the same year, to determine whether the frequency of intrapartum fetal death in low-risk women varied by the hospital setting for birth. Stratified analysis was used to assess the relation of level of hospital for delivery with intrapartum fetal death, with control for potential confounding factors. As the level of available perinatal technology decreased, the frequency of intrapartum fetal death increased (odds ratio, 2.0 for Level II and 3.3 for Level I, as compared with Level III hospitals). Even when early neonatal deaths were considered, perinatal mortality remained lowest at Level III facilities (odds ratio, 1.6 for Level II and 2.7 for Level I, as compared with Level III hospitals). The components of intrapartum surveillance that are most effective in the reduction of perinatal mortality have not been identified.