Gestational and delivery complications as perinatal risk factors - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

Purpose: to evaluate gestational and delivery complications as risk factors for perinatal death. Methodology – Patients: the cases (perinatal deaths) were identified among a total of 3,031 deliveries from the maternity of the Rio de Janeiro State Military Police. Methods: the study design was a nested case-control one. Cases (n = 82) were perinatal deaths with a minimum gestational age of 28 weeks or a weight of 1,000 g. Controls (n = 246) were live babies for the first week of life. The analysis was made in three steps: univariate, stratified and multivariate (logistic regression). Results: the gestational complications showed an odds ratio of 4.21 and the delivery complications, 5.26. The newborn weight showed an OR = 0.999 per gram over 1,000 g weight. The gestational age showed an OR = 0.729 per week of gestation over 28 weeks. Conclusions: the gestational complications and the delivery complications were important risk factors for perinatal death. The gestational age and the weight of the newborn were important protective factors.