Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010:2010:350763.
doi: 10.1155/2010/350763. Epub 2010 Apr 1.

Malaria, intestinal helminths and other risk factors for stillbirth in Ghana

Nelly J Yatich  1 , Ellen Funkhouser, John E Ehiri, Tsiri Agbenyega, Jonathan K Stiles, Julian C Rayner, Archer Turpin, William O Ellis, Yi Jiang, Jonathan H Williams, Evans Afriyie-Gwayu, Timothy Phillips, Pauline E Jolly
Affiliations

Malaria, intestinal helminths and other risk factors for stillbirth in Ghana

Nelly J Yatich et al. Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol. 2010.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the study was to assess Plasmodium/intestinal helminth infection in pregnancy and other risk factors for stillbirth in Ghana.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of women presenting for delivery in two hospitals was conducted during November-December 2006. Data collected included sociodemographic information, medical and obstetric histories, and anthropometric measures. Laboratory investigations for the presence of Plasmodium falciparum and intestinal helminths, and tests for hemoglobin levels were also performed.

Results: The stillbirth rate was relatively high in this population (5%). Most of the stillbirths were fresh and 24% were macerated. When compared to women with no malaria, women with malaria had increased risk of stillbirth (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.2-9.3). Other factors associated with stillbirth were severe anemia, low serum folate concentration, past induced abortion, and history of stillbirth.

Conclusion: The fact that most of the stillbirths were fresh suggests that higher quality intrapartum care could reduce stillbirth rates.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Lawn JE, Cousens S, Zupan J. 4 million neonatal deaths. When? Where? Why? The Lancet. 2005;365(9462):891–900. - PubMed
    1. Stanton C, Lawn JE, Rahman H, Wilczynska-Ketende K, Hill K. Stillbirth rates: delivering estimates in 190 countries. The Lancet. 2006;367(9521):1487–1494. - PubMed
    1. Cnattingius S, Haglund B, Kramer MS. Differences in late fetal death rates in association with determinants of small for gestational age fetuses: population based cohort study. British Medical Journal. 1998;316(7143):1483–1487. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Population Reference Bureau. Evaluating Stillbirths. Improving Stillbirth Data Could Help Make Stillbirths a Visible Public Health Priority. Population Reference Bureau; 2006.
    1. Lawn J, Shibuya K, Stein C. No cry at birth: global estimates of intrapartum stillbirths and intrapartum-related neonatal deaths. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2005;83(6):409–417. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types