Table 2.

Mode of delivery, maternal outcome, and appearance of stillborn babies

	Case-control study BW ≥2000 g
	Cases Pre-hosp. Stillbirths	Cases Intra-hosp. Stillbirths	Controls Apgar 7–10
	N (%)
Mode of delivery
Of all women in the study:	(n = 67)	(n = 72)	(n = 249)
Spontaneous vaginal	45 (67.2 %)	46 (63.9 %)	213 (85.5 %)
Vaginal breech	3 (4.5 %)	5 (6.9 %)	5 (2.0 %)
Vacuum extraction	1 (1.5 %)	0 (0.0 %)	0 (0.0 %)
Caesarean sectiona, b	15 (22.4 %)	20 (27.8 %)	26 (10.4 %)
Mode of delivery unknown	3 (4.5 %)	1 (1.4 %)	5 (2.0 %)
Maternal outcome
Of all women in the study:	(n = 67)	(n = 72)	(n = 249)
Maternal deaths	2 (3.0 %)	1 (1.4 %)	0 (0.0 %)
Post partum haemorrhagec	7 (10.4 %)	10 (13.9 %)	14 (5.6 %)
Episiotomy/spontaneous tearsd, e	6 (9.0 %)	19 (26.4 %)	79 (31.7 %)
Of vaginal deliveries:	(n = 49)	(n = 51)	(n = 218)
Prolonged admission, ≥1 dayf	9 (18.4 %)	0 (0.0 %)	3 (1.4 %)
Of caesarean sections:	(n = 15)	(n = 20)	(n = 26)
Prolonged admission, ≥5 days	1 (6.7 %)	3 (15.0 %)	2 (7.7 %)
‘Fresh’ versus ‘macerated’ stillbirths
Of all women in the study:	(n = 67)	(n = 72)	(n = 249)
Classification not recorded	36 (53.7 %)	41 (56.9 %)	NA

BW birthweight, CI confidence interval, NA not applicable; OR, odds ratio

^aOverall, 9/35 (26 %) of the caesarean sections with stillbirth were done prior to active labour, and 10/35 (29 %) in second stage. Among controls, this was the case for 13/26 (50 %) and 0/26 (0 %), respectively

^bDifference between stillbirths and controls: OR 2.94, 95 % CI 1.68–5.14

^cDifference between stillbirths and controls: OR 2.34, 95 % CI 1.12–4.90

^dInformation was insufficient to distinguish between spontaneous vaginal tears and episiotomies

^eDifference between pre-hospital stillbirths and controls: OR 0.21, 95 % CI 0.09–0.51

^fDifference between pre-hospital stillbirths and controls: OR 16.13, 95 % CI 4.18–62.17