94 maternal deaths and 1546 fetal and neonatal deaths were registered among 28,706 births at the CHU Averroes in Casablanca between 1978-80. 45% of women who deliver at the clinic are very poor and only 10% are relatively well off. Obstetrical antecedents were noted in 27% of the fetal deaths. 70% of the maternal deaths occurred in women aged 20-34. 32 maternal deaths occurred among 16,232 women with 1-2 children, 30 among 6514 women with 3-5 children, and 32 among 5960 women with 6-14 children. 11,027 of the 28,706 were primaparas. Perinatal mortality was 4.46% among primaparas, 8.24% among grand multiparas, and 4.1% among secondiparas. In 58 of the 94 cases of maternal mortality the woman was hospitalized after attempting delivery at home or in a village clinic. Among women with 1 or 2 children, hemorrhage was the cause of death in 8 cases, infection in 7 cases, eclampsia in 3 cases, thromboembolism in 2 cases, uterine inversion in 2 cases, pulmonary tuberculosis in 1 case, embolism in 5 cases, and other causes 1 case each. Among women with 3-5 children hemorrhage was the cause of death in 10 cases, septicemia in 3 cases, uterine rupture in 3 cases, eclampsia in 3 cases, uterine inversion in 2 cases, viral hepatitis in 2 cases, emboli in 2 cases, and other reasons 1 case each. Among grand multiparas hemorrhage was the cause of death in 11 cases, uterine rupture in 12 cases, peritonitis in 2 cases, eclampsia in 2 cases, emboli in 2 cases, and other causes 1 case each. 19 of the maternal deaths were judged to have been avoidable with better management. Prematurity and birth weight of 1000-2500 g associated or not with other pathology were found in 714 of 1546 perinatal deaths. Of 390 cases of death in utero with retention and maceration, 68 were caused by reno-vascular syndromes, 76 by maternal infections, 33 by maternal syphilis, 26 by fetal malformation, 18 by maternal diabetes, 10 by Rh incompatability, and 159 by indeterminate causes. In 795 cases of intrapartum mortality without maceration, 114 were caused by retroplacental hematomas, 61 by placenta previa, 74 by uterine rupture, 119 by prolapse of the cord, 51 by fetal malformation, 45 by dystochia, 53 by twin pregnancies, 104 by fetal distress, 44 by obstetrical trauma, 55 by prematurity, and 75 by undetermined causes. In 361 cases of early neonatal mortality, 88 were caused by renovascular syndromes, 24 by diabetes, 13 by Rh incompatibility, 34 by placenta previa, 94 by prematurity, 28 by fetal malformation, 35 by fetal infections, 31 by fetal distress, and 14 by obstetrical trauma. The rates of maternal and perinatal mortality are very high compared to those of European countries.

Counting of fetal movement (FM) during pregnancy is believed to be a method by which a woman estimates the fetal well-being. In 2015, it was estimated that 2.6 million babies had died in utero. A percentage of 30-55% of women who experience an episode of reduced fetal movement (RFM) within a week may face stillbirth.

The majority of pregnant women in Georgia attend the free-of-charge, national antenatal care (ANC) programme, but over 5% of pregnancies in the country are unattended. Moreover, Georgia has one of the highest perinatal mortality (PM) rates in Europe (11.7/1000 births).

Diabetes in pregnancy has been associated with a paradoxically reduced risk of neonatal death in twin pregnancies. Risk "shift" may be a concern in that the reduction in neonatal deaths may be due to an increase in fetal deaths (stillbirths). This study aimed to clarify the impact of diabetes on the risk of perinatal death (neonatal death plus stillbirth) in twin pregnancies.

In a prospective study carried out in the Hospital de Gineco-Obstetricia, Centro Médico León, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, 200 women with pregnancies 32-41 weeks, without risk factors, were included in order to evaluate the perinatal outcome in patients with decreased fetal movement. The sample was divided in two groups: 100 patients with decreased fetal movement (study group) and 100 patients with normal fetal movement (control group). The group of patients with decreased fetal movement had higher incidence of complications during delivery (only 35% had normal delivery), greater average of birth weight (3,412 g), more cases of meconium stained fluid (26%) and higher frequency of placental calcifications (29%) as compared with the control group (P < 0.01). In comparing newborn Apgar score and perinatal morbidity and mortality rates there were no statistical difference in both groups. It's concluded that antepartum fetal surveillance has a definite role in diminishing the morbidity and mortality rates in patients with decreased fetal movement.

Pregnancy-induced or gestational hypertension is a common pregnancy complication. Paradoxically, gestational hypertension has been associated with a protective effect against perinatal mortality in twin pregnancies in analytic models (logistic regression) without accounting for survival time. Whether this effect is real remains uncertain. This study aimed to validate the impact of gestational hypertension on perinatal mortality in twin pregnancies using a survival analysis approach.

This is an ecological and time-series study using secondary data on perinatal mortality and its components from 2008 to 2017 in Espírito Santo, Brazil. The data were collected from the Mortality Information System (SIM) and Live Births Information System (SINASC) of the Unified Health System Informatics Department (DATASUS) in June 2019. The perinatal mortality rate (×1000 total births) was calculated. Time series were constructed from the perinatal mortality rate for the regions and Espírito Santo. To analyze the trend, the Prais-Winsten model was used. From 2008 to 2017 there were 8132 perinatal deaths (4939 fetal and 3193 early neonatal) out of a total of 542,802 births, a perinatal mortality rate of 15.0/1000 total births. The fetal/early neonatal ratio was 1.5:1, with a strong positive correlation early neonatal mortality rate, perinatal mortality rate, r (9) = 0.8893, with a significance level of p = 0.000574. The presence of differences in trends by health region was observed. Risk factors that stood out were as follows: mother's age ranging between 10 and 19 or 40 and 49 years old, with no education, a gestational age between 22 and 36 weeks, triple and double pregnancy, and a birth weight below 2499 g. Among the causes of death, 49.70% of deaths were concentrated in category of the tenth edition of the International Classification of Diseases, fetuses and newborns affected by maternal factors and complications of pregnancy, labor, and delivery (P00-P04), and 11.03% were in the category of intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia (P20-P21), both related to proper care during pregnancy and childbirth. We observed a slow reduction in the perinatal mortality rate in the state of Espírito Santo from 2008 to 2017.

This study aimed to systematically review observational studies on perinatal mortality in South Asia.

No abstract available

Absorption of dietary phosphate (Pi) across intestinal epithelia is a regulated process mediated by transcellular and paracellular pathways. Although hyperphosphatemia is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, the amount of ingested Pi in a typical Western diet is above physiological needs. While blocking intestinal absorption has been suggested as a therapeutic approach to prevent hyperphosphatemia, a complete picture regarding the identity and regulation of the mechanism(s) responsible for intestinal absorption of Pi is missing. The Na+/Pi cotransporter NaPi-IIb is a secondary active transporter encoded by the Slc34a2 gene. This transporter has a wide tissue distribution and within the intestinal tract is located at the apical membrane of epithelial cells. Based on mouse models deficient in NaPi-IIb, this cotransporter is assumed to mediate the bulk of active intestinal absorption of Pi. However, whether or not this is also applicable to humans is unknown, since human patients with inactivating mutations in SLC34A2 have not been reported to suffer from Pi depletion. Thus, mice may not be the most appropriate experimental model for the translation of intestinal Pi handling to humans. Here, we describe the generation of a rat model with Crispr/Cas-driven constitutive depletion of Slc34a2. Slc34a2 heterozygous rats were indistinguishable from wild type animals under standard dietary conditions as well as upon 3 days feeding on low Pi. However, unlike in humans, homozygosity resulted in perinatal lethality.

In several developing countries, achieving Millennium Development Goal 4 is still off track. Multiple maternal and fetal risk factors were inconsistently attributed to the high perinatal mortality in developing countries. However, there was no meta-analysis that assessed the pooled effect of these factors on perinatal mortality. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to identify maternal and fetal factors predicting perinatal mortality.

There is a scarcity of reliable data on perinatal mortality (PNM) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The PROMISE-EBF trial, during which we promoted exclusive breastfeeding, gave us the opportunity to describe the epidemiology of PNM in Banfora Health District, South-West in Burkina Faso.

No abstract available

This umbrella review summarises and critically appraises the evidence on the effects of regulated or high-volume perinatal care on outcome among very low birth weight/very preterm infants born in countries with neonatal mortality <5/1000 births.

Epidermal development is a complex process of regulated cellular proliferation, differentiation, and tightly controlled cell death involving multiple cellular signaling networks. Here, we report a first description linking the AAA+ (ATPases associated with various cellular activities) superfamily protein Ruvbl1 to mammalian epidermal development. Keratinocyte-specific Ruvbl1 knockout mice (Ruvbl1fl/flK14:Cretg) show a severe phenotype including dramatic structural epidermal defects resulting in the loss of the functional skin barrier and perinatal death. Thus, Ruvbl1 is a newly identified essential player for the development of differentiated epidermis in mice.

The primary aims of this study were to investigate if exposure to antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) was associated with lower rates of perinatal mortality (primary outcome) and other adverse perinatal outcomes (i.e., stillbirth, early neonatal mortality, APGAR score of < 7 at 5 mins, neonatal sepsis and respiratory distress syndrome) in preterm infants in hospitals in Tanzania. We also examine factors associated with administration of ACS among women at risk of preterm delivery.

Despite decreasing overall perinatal and maternal mortality in high-income countries, perinatal and maternal health inequalities are persisting in Sub Saharan African countries. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects size of rates and determinants for perinatal mortality in Sub-Saharan countries.

Each year, an estimated six million perinatal deaths occur worldwide, and 98% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. These estimates are based on surveys in both urban and rural areas, and they may underrepresent the problem in rural areas. This study was conducted to quantify perinatal mortality, to identify the associated risk factors, and to determine the most common causes of early neonatal death in a rural area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Data were collected on 1,892 births. Risk factors associated with perinatal deaths were identified using multivariate analysis with logistic regression models. Causes of early neonatal deaths were determined by physician-review of information describing death. The perinatal mortality rate was 61 per 1,000 births; the stillbirth rate was 30 per 1,000 births; and the early neonatal death rate was 32 per 1,000 livebirths. Clinically-relevant factors independently associated with perinatal death included: low birthweight [odds ratio (OR)=13.51, 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.82-23.35], breech presentation (OR)=12.41; 95% CI 4.62-33.33), lack of prenatal care (OR=2.70, 95% CI 1.81-4.02), and parity greater than 4 (OR=1.93 95% CI 1.11-3.37). Over one-half of early neonatal deaths (n=37) occurred during the first two postnatal days, and the most common causes were low birthweight/prematurity (47%), asphyxia (34%), and infection (8%). The high perinatal mortality rate in rural communities in the DRC, approximately one-half of which is attributable to early neonatal death, may be modifiable. Specifically, deaths due to breech presentation, the second most common risk factor, may be reduced by making available emergency obstetric care. Most neonatal deaths occur soon after birth, and nearly three-quarters are caused by low birthweight/prematurity or asphyxia. Neonatal mortality might be reduced by targeting interventions to improve neonatal resuscitation and care of larger preterm infants.

To assess the strength of associations between interrelated perinatal risk factors and mortality in very preterm infants.

Perinatal mortality is a devastating pregnancy outcome affecting millions of families in many low and middle-income countries including Nepal. This paper examined the more distant factors associated with perinatal mortality in Nepal.