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. 2020 Jun;60(3):425-432.
doi: 10.1111/ajo.13085. Epub 2019 Nov 5.

Rates of stillbirth by maternal region of birth and gestational age in New South Wales, Australia 2004-2015

Ye'elah Berman  1   2 , Ibinabo Ibiebele  1   3 , Jillian A Patterson  1   3 , Deborah Randall  1   3 , Jane B Ford  1   3 , Tanya Nippita  1   3   4 , Jonathan M Morris  1   3   4 , Miranda L Davies-Tuck  5   6 , Siranda Torvaldsen  1   3   7
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Rates of stillbirth by maternal region of birth and gestational age in New South Wales, Australia 2004-2015

Ye'elah Berman et al. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Research suggests that in Australia, maternal region of birth is a risk factor for stillbirth.

Aims: We aimed to examine the relationship between stillbirth and maternal region of birth in New South Wales (NSW), Australia from 2004 to 2015.

Methods: Adjusted logistic regression was used to determine odds of stillbirth by maternal region of birth, compared with Australian or New Zealand-born (AUS/NZ-born) women. Intervention rates (induction or pre-labour caesarean) by maternal region of birth, over time, were also examined. Interaction terms were used to assess change in relative odds of stillbirth, over two time periods (2004-2011 and 2012-2015).

Results: There were 944 457 singleton births ≥24 weeks gestation that met the study inclusion criteria and 3221 of these were stillbirths, giving a stillbirth rate of 3.4 per 1000 births. After adjustment for confounders, South Asian (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.42, 95% CI 1.24-1.62), Oceanian (aOR 1.45, 95% CI 1.17-1.80) and African (aOR 1.46, 96% CI 1.19-1.80) born women had significantly higher odds of stillbirth that AUS/NZ-born women. Intervention rates increased from the earlier to the later time period by 13.1% across the study population, but the increase was larger in African and South Asian-born women (18.1% and 19.6% respectively) than AUS/NZ-born women (11.2%). There was a significant interaction between ethnicity and time period for South Asian-born women in the all-births model, with their stillbirth rates becoming closer to AUS/NZ-born women in the later period.

Conclusion: South Asian, African and Oceanian maternal region of birth are independent risk factors for stillbirth in NSW.

Keywords: birth intervention; ethnicity; gestational age; maternal region of birth; stillbirth.

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