Role of placental pathology in stillbirth: A descriptive study

Placental pathology is thought to play a significant role in causing stillbirths. Identifying such pathologies can help in preventing stillbirths and improving future pregnancy outcomes. Hence, this study was planned to determine the role of placental pathology in the cases of stillbirth and its association with the risk factors.

A descriptive study was conducted on 42 women with stillbirth, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, in collaboration with the Department of Pathology, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow for 18 months. A detailed questionnaire was used to collect data from study participants and their placental samples were sent for histopathological and microbiological examination. Data were analysed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences version 23.0 for Windows.

Out of 42 women in our study, the majority were primigravida (40.5%) with a mean maternal age of 28.38 ± 4.9 years. Among 42 study participants, 41 (97.6%) had no antenatal checkups, 14 (33.3%) of them had associated comorbidities of which pre-eclampsia was most common (26.2%), 20 (47.6%) showed maternal vascular malperfusion as the commonest histopathological finding and 18 samples (42.9%) had microbial growth. Among the 42 cases, histological findings were seen in 29 placental samples while 13 did not show any histological changes in the placenta. The difference was statistically insignificant (P < 0.05).

In our study, lack of antenatal care, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, premature rupture of membranes, gestational diabetes and antepartum haemorrhage were found to be the major risk factors for stillbirth. Also, maternal vascular malperfusion and chorioamnionitis along with microbial growth were seen as the major pathological lesions found in placental samples of women with stillbirth.