Watts T, Harris R R
Bull World Health Organ. 1982;60(6):971-9.
A total of 266 mothers of stillborn babies (cases) and 266 mothers of live-born babies (controls), matched for parity, were studied in an attempt to define the causes of the stillbirths. Altogether, 16% of mothers in the former group were over 35 years old, compared with 9% in the latter; in addition, 16% of cases had a history of past perinatal death, compared with only 2.4% among the controls.Mothers of stillborn babies had fewer attendances at the antenatal clinic and a longer interval between the last visit and delivery, compared with the control group; 8% of the former group had no antenatal care. Only 47% of mothers had a Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test reported before delivery. The VDRL test was positive in 34% of the cases tested and in 7% of controls.Of the 266 stillborn infants, 56% were of low birth weight; 12% of the 170 macerated stillbirths were associated with intrapartum problems that may have contributed to death, compared with 46% of the 96 fresh stillbirths. Prolonged labour and prolapsed cord were the commonest intrapartum factors associated with death. The most common antepartum factors were a positive VDRL test, abruptio placentae, and a history of illness. A total of 5% of the stillborn infants had some congenital abnormality. No cause of death could be identified in 13.5% of these infants, the majority of whom were of low birth weight.
共对266名死产婴儿的母亲（病例组）和266名活产婴儿的母亲（对照组）进行了研究，两组在胎次上进行了匹配，旨在确定死产的原因。总体而言，前一组中16%的母亲年龄超过35岁，而后一组中这一比例为9%；此外，病例组中有16%的母亲有过围产期死亡史，而对照组中这一比例仅为2.4%。与对照组相比，死产婴儿的母亲在产前诊所的就诊次数较少，最后一次就诊与分娩之间的间隔时间较长；前一组中有8%的母亲没有接受产前护理。只有47%的母亲在分娩前有梅毒血清学检验（VDRL）报告。接受检测的病例中34%的VDRL检测呈阳性，对照组中这一比例为7%。在266名死产婴儿中，56%为低体重儿；在170例浸软死产中，12%与可能导致死亡的产时问题有关，而在96例新鲜死产中这一比例为46%。产程延长和脐带脱垂是与死亡相关最常见的产时因素。最常见的产前因素是VDRL检测呈阳性、胎盘早剥和疾病史。共有5%的死产婴儿有某种先天性异常。在这些婴儿中，13.5%无法确定死亡原因，其中大多数为低体重儿。
