Factors associated with fresh stillbirths: A hospital-based, matched, case-control study in Burkina Faso

To determine the risk factors for fresh stillbirths in hospitals in Burkina Faso.

A hospital-based, matched (1:1), case-control study was conducted from July to August 2014 in 50 hospitals across the country. All cases of stillbirth that occurred during this period in the participating facilities were included, and an appropriate control was selected for each case from the same health facility. Cases and controls were matched for gestational age. Conditional logistic regression with robust standard errors was used to compute both unadjusted and adjusted conditional odds ratios.

Cases were 67% less likely to have been delivered by a midwife compared with a nonmidwife attendant (ACOR=0.33; 95% CI, 0.12-0.84; P=0.02). Use of a partograph to monitor labor lowered the odds of fresh stillbirth by 82% (ACOR=0.18; 95% CI, 0.05-0.61; P=0.006). Mothers who had been transferred from another health facility were five times more likely to experience a fresh stillbirth (ACOR=5.36; 95% CI, 2.02-14.23; P<0.001).

Quality and timing of intrapartum obstetric care is key to preventing fresh stillbirths. Easy to implement and available interventions, such as use of a partograph for all laboring women and improving the referral system, have the potential to save the lives of many fetuses.