Five causes accounted for 90% of fetal deaths, finds US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Five causes accounted for 89.5% of fetal deaths between 2015 and 2017, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported.

Donna Hoyert PhD and Elizabeth Gregory MPH, from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, presented findings on fetal deaths occurring at 20 weeks of gestation or more between 2015 and 2017 in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

The five causes of 89.5% of fetal deaths were: unspecified cause; complications of placenta; cord and membranes; maternal complications of pregnancy; congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities; and maternal conditions that may be unrelated to present pregnancy.

In conclusion, they said: “Cause-of-fetal-death data reported on vital records enable new comparisons of maternal and fetal characteristics and provide information for a larger proportion of the country than other studies. While limited variation was seen among the selected causes across the maternal and fetal characteristics examined, many of the observed variations are consistent with associations that have been documented in the research literature.”

Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Vital Statistics Report

Staff Writer