Causes of death among full term stillbirths and early neonatal deaths in the Region of Southern Denmark
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        Millie Nguyen Basu
        
, Iben Birgit Gade Johnsen
 , Sonja Wehberg , Rikke Guldberg Sørensen , Torben Barington and Bente Mertz Nørgård 
Abstract
Objective:
We examined the causes of death amongst full term stillbirths and early neonatal deaths.
Methods:
Our cohort includes women in the Region of Southern Denmark, who gave birth at full term to a stillborn infant or a neonate who died within the first 7 days from 2010 through 2014. Demographic, biometric and clinical variables were analyzed to assess the causes of death using two classification systems: causes of death and associated conditions (CODAC) and a Danish system based on initial causes of fetal death (INCODE).
Results:
A total of 95 maternal-infant cases were included. Using the CODAC and INCODE classification systems, we found that the causes of death were unknown in 59/95 (62.1%). The second most common cause of death in CODAC was congenital anomalies in 10/95 (10.5%), similar to INCODE with fetal, genetic, structural and karyotypic anomalies in 11/95 (11.6%). The majority of the mothers were healthy, primiparous, non-smokers, aged 20–34 years and with a normal body mass index (BMI).
Conclusion:
Based on an unselected cohort from an entire region in Denmark, the cause of stillbirth and early neonatal deaths among full term infants remained unknown for the vast majority.
Author’s statement
Conflict of interest: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Material and methods: Informed consent: Consent has been obtained from the appropriate authorities according to Danish law from the Danish Board of Health (J.nr. 3-3013-189/1) and the Danish Data Protection Agency (J.nr. 2012-41-0856).
Ethical approval: The research related to human subject use has complied with all the relevant national regulations, and institutional policies, and is in accordance with the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration, and has been approved by the authors’ institutional review board or equivalent committee.
References
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©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
 - Review article
 - Fetal cardiac tumors: clinical features, management and prognosis
 - Original articles – Obstetrics
 - Chronic inflammatory lesions of the placenta are associated with an up-regulation of amniotic fluid CXCR3: A marker of allograft rejection
 - Gaps in obstetric care processes – we can only improve what is being measured
 - Tokophobia (fear of childbirth): prevalence and risk factors
 - Adjuvant administration of 17-α-hydroxy-progesterone caproate in women with three or more second trimester pregnancy losses undergoing cervical cerclage is no more effective than cerclage alone
 - The role of ultrasound in the prediction of birth weight discordance in twin pregnancies: are we there yet?
 - NLRP genes and their role in preeclampsia and multi-locus imprinting disorders
 - Original articles – Fetus
 - Diagnostic value of perinatal autopsies: analysis of 486 cases
 - Feto-maternal osmotic balance at term. A prospective observational study
 - Original articles – Newborn
 - Oxygen saturation trends in normal healthy term newborns: normal vaginal delivery vs. elective cesarean section
 - Causes of death among full term stillbirths and early neonatal deaths in the Region of Southern Denmark
 - Critical congenital heart disease screening with a pulse oximetry in neonates
 - DHA reduces oxidative stress following hypoxia-ischemia in newborn piglets: a study of lipid peroxidation products in urine and plasma
 - A non-invasive method to rule out transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN): fetal pulmonary artery acceleration to ejection time ratio
 - Letter to the Editor
 - Clarification of the methods and statistics in the study “Planned home birth and the association with neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy”
 - Clarification of the methods and statistics in the study “Planned home birth and the association with neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy”
 - Reply to: Planned home birth and the association with neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy
 - Response to the Letter to the Editor, “Risk factors of uterine rupture with a special interest to uterine fundal pressure: methodological issues”
 - Re: Utility of routine urine CMV PCR and total serum IgM testing of small for gestational age infants: a single center review