PGI sees 62 stillborn cases in every 1,000 deliveries

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 23 

In a shocking revelation, as many as 62 stillborn cases per thousand births are reported at the PGI every year. This comes to 350-400 cases of the total five to six thousand births taking place at the premier institute in a year.

The fact came to light during a WHO-sponsored stillbirth sentinel surveillance in which the PGI is the nodal centre for 10 main hospitals of the region. 

According to Dr Bharti Sharma of the PGI, who is the project consultant, this was revealed when the data of the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 was assessed. Before that, no such organised study on stillbirths was undertaken. In the three years, 62 stillbirths per one thousand were reported at the PGI. Overall stillbirth in the ten centres — PGI, GMCH-32, GMSH-16, a government hospital at Panchkula, a medical college at Rohtak and hospitals at Patiala, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra and Jammu — is 37.8 per thousand total births. All these hospitals where maximum cases are received were part of the surveillance. 

“The stillbirths are higher at the PGI as it is a tertiary care and referral centre,” said Dr Neelam Aggarwal, principal investigator of the project.

On the main cause, Dr Sharma says 80 to 90 per cent expectant mothers reach the PGI when the foetus was already dead inside the womb. The remaining 10 per cent cases are of those who are too sick to be treated, she adds.

“There is a need to improve the quality of care being provided to women in the family way and at the time of delivery. A pregnant woman should be aware of some warning signs like increased blood pressure records, bleeding or watery discharge and decreased foetal movement, and must visit a hospital to avoid stillbirth,” Dr Sharma says while terming the stillbirth count as alarmingly high.

Common causes of stillbirths are high blood pressure, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, any bleeding during pregnancy, congenital malformation, prematurity and other associated conditions. Unplanned pregnancy, folic acid, financial, personal and health system are also the reasons for high stillbirths in India, elaborates Dr Bharti.

Dr Vanita Suri, Professor and Head, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, PGI, said, “Stillbirths are underreported. It is a neglected tragedy. Therefore, a pilot project under WHO is being undertaken.”

The reasons

• The number of stillbirths is higher at the PGI as it is a tertiary care and referral centre, says Dr Neelam Aggarwal, principal investigator of the project.
• Common causes of stillbirths are high blood pressure, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, any bleeding during pregnancy, congenital malformation, prematurity and other associated conditions. 
• Unplanned pregnancy, folic acid, financial, personal and health system are also the reasons for high stillbirths in India.