National policies and care provision in pregnancy and childbirth for twins in Eastern and Southern Africa: A mixed-methods multi-country study.

BACKGROUND: High-risk pregnancies, such as twin pregnancies, deserve particular attention as mortality is very high in this group. With a view to inform policy and national guidelines development for the Sustainable Development Goals, we reviewed national training materials, guidelines, and policies underpinning the provision of care in relation to twin pregnancies and assessed care provided to twins in 8 Eastern and Southern African countries: Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We located policies and guidelines by reviewing national repositories and by contacting experts to systematically map country-level maternal and newborn training materials, guidelines, and policies. We extracted recommendations for care for twins spanning ante-, intra-, and postpartum care that typically should be offered during twin pregnancies and childbirth. We compared care provided for mothers of twins to that provided for mothers of singletons during the ante-, intra-, and postpartum period and computed neonatal mortality rates using the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data for each country. There was a paucity of guidance on care specifically for twin or multiple pregnancies: None of the countries provided clear guidance on additional number of antenatal care visits or specific antenatal content, while 7 of the 8 countries recommended twins to be delivered in a comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care facility. These results were mirrored by DHS results of 73,462 live births (of which 1,360 were twin) indicating that twin pregnancies did not receive more frequent or intensified antenatal care. The percentage of twin deliveries in hospitals varied from 25.3% in Mozambique to 63.0% in Kenya, and women with twin deliveries were between 5 and 27 percentage points more likely to deliver in hospitals compared to women with singleton live births; this difference was significant in 5 of the 8 countries (t test p < 0.05). The percentage of twin deliveries by cesarean section varied from 9% in Mozambique to 36% in Rwanda. The newborn mortality rate among twins, adjusted for maternal age and parity, was 4.6 to 7.2 times higher for twins compared to singletons in all 8 countries. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the limited sample size and the limited number of clinically relevant services evaluated, our study provided evidence that mothers of twins receive insufficient care and that mortality in twin newborns is very high in Eastern and Southern Africa. Most countries have insufficient guidelines for the care of twins. While our data do not allow us to make a causal link between insufficient guidelines and insufficient care, they call for an assessment and reconceptualisation of policies to reduce the unacceptably high mortality in twins in Eastern and Southern Africa.

[Perinatal mortality in the municipality of Salvador, Northeastern Brazil: evolution from 2000 to 2009]. / Mortalidade perinatal no município de Salvador, Bahia: evolução de 2000 a 2009.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and analyze the evolution of perinatal mortality with regards the scale and extent of the problem. METHODS: A descriptive time trend study with 10,994 perinatal deaths to mothers living in Salvador, Bahia, Northeastern Brazil, with a gestational age of ≥ 22 weeks, newborn age of up to six days and birth weight of 500 grams or more, recorded from 2000 to 2009. Data from the Information Systems on Live Births and Mortality of DATASUS/Ministry of Health available on the website were used. Rates of perinatal and fetal mortality per 1,000 births and early neonatal mortality per 1,000 live births were calculated. The Pearson's Qui-square test for differences in proportions, sequence (runs) test, the calculation of moving averages and linear coefficient of determination (R²) were used for trend analysis. The Wigglesworth classification of causes of death was used. RESULTS: The rates of perinatal mortality showed a decreasing trend, of -42.0% in the period (from 33.1 (2000) to 19.2 (2009)), with a greater share of rates of neonatal mortality (-56.3%). Fetal mortality accounted for a large proportion (61.9%) of rates of perinatal mortality in 2009. The classification of deaths showed the following most frequent causes of perinatal deaths: intrapartum asphyxia (8.8/1,000), immaturity (7.1/1,000) and congenital malformations (1.3/1,000). CONCLUSIONS: Perinatal mortality remains high despite the downward trend, and the predominance of fetal mortality indicates recent changes in the profile of causes of death and impact on prevention activities. The quality of prenatal care with risk control and improving care during the delivery may reduce the occurrence of preventable causes of death.

Mortalidade perinatal no municipio de Salvador, Bahia: evolucao de 2000 a 2009 / Mortalidad perinatal en el municipio de Salvador, BA, Brasil: evolucion de 2000 a 2009 / Perinatal mortality in the municipality of Salvador, Northeastern Brazil: evolution from 2000 to 2009

OBJETIVO Analisar a evolução da mortalidade perinatal quanto à dimensão do problema e sua extensão. MÉTODOS Estudo descritivo de tendência temporal com 10.994 óbitos perinatais, de mães residentes em Salvador, BA, com idade gestacional ≥ 22 semanas, idade do recém-nascido até seis dias e 500 g ou mais de peso ao nascer, registrados de 2000 a 2009. Utilizaram-se dados do Sistema de Informações de Nascidos Vivos e do Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade do sitio eletrônico do Datasus/Ministério da Saúde. Calcularam-se taxas de mortalidade perinatal e fetal/1.000 nascimentos e neonatal precoce/1.000 nascidos vivos. Aplicaram-se: teste Qui-quadrado de Pearson para diferenças em proporções, teste de sequências ( runs ), cálculo de médias móveis e coeficiente de determinação linear (R 2 ) para análise de tendência. Utilizou-se a classificação de Wigglesworth para causas de morte. RESULTADOS A taxa de mortalidade perinatal mostrou tendência decrescente, sendo reduzida em 42,0% no período (de 33,1 (2000) para 19,2 (2009)), com maior contribuição da taxa neonatal precoce (-56,3%). A mortalidade fetal representou grande proporção (61,9%) da taxa de mortalidade perinatal em 2009. A classificação dos óbitos apontou como causas mais frequentes de óbito perinatal: asfixia intraparto (8,8/1.000), imaturidade (7,1/1.000) e malformações congênitas (1,3/1.000). CONCLUSÕES Mesmo em declínio, a taxa de mortalidade perinatal continua elevada e o predomínio recente da mortalidade fetal indica mudança no perfil de causas e impacto nas ações de prevenção. A consulta pré-natal de qualidade com controle de riscos e melhoria da assistência ao parto pode reduzir a ocorrência ...

OBJETIVO Analizar la evolución de la mortalidad perinatal con relación a la dimensión del problema y su extensión. MÉTODOS Estudio descriptivo de tendencia temporal con 10.994 óbitos perinatales, de madres residentes en Salvador, BA, con edad de gestación ≥ 22 semanas, edad del recién nacido de máximo 6 días y más de 500 grs de peso al nacer, registrados de 2000 a 2009. Se utilizaron datos del Sistema de Informaciones de Nacidos Vivos y del Sistema de Informaciones de Mortalidad de la página electrónica del Datasus/Ministerio de la Salud. Se calcularon las tasas de mortalidad perinatal y fetal/1.000 nacimientos y neonatal precoz/1.000 nacidos vivos. Se aplicaron: prueba de Chi-cuadrado de Pearson para diferencias en proporciones, prueba de secuencias (runs), cálculo de promedios móviles y coeficiente de determinación linear (R2) para análisis de tendencia. Se utilizó la clasificación de Wigglesworth para causas de muerte. RESULTADOS La tasa de mortalidad perinatal mostró tendencia decreciente, reduciendo 42,0% en el período (de 33,1 (2000) para 19,2 (2009)), con mayor contribución de tasa neonatal precoz (-56,3%). La mortalidad fetal representó gran proporción (61,9%) de la tasa de mortalidad perinatal en 2009. La clasificación de los óbitos apuntó como causas más frecuentes de óbito perinatal: asfixia durante el parto (8,8/1.000), inmadurez (7,1/1.000) y malformaciones congénitas (1,3/1.000). CONCLUSIONES A pesar de estar disminuyendo, la tasa de mortalidad perinatal continua elevada y el predominio reciente de la mortalidad fetal indica cambio en el perfil de causas e impacto en las acciones de prevención. La consulta pre-natal de calidad con control de riesgos y mejoría de la asistencia en el parto pueden reducir la ocurrencia de causas evitables. .

OBJECTIVE To describe and analyze the evolution of perinatal mortality with regards the scale and extent of the problem. METHODS A descriptive time trend study with 10,994 perinatal deaths to mothers living in Salvador, Bahia, Northeastern Brazil, with a gestational age of ≥ 22 weeks, newborn age of up to six days and birth weight of 500 grams or more, recorded from 2000 to 2009. Data from the Information Systems on Live Births and Mortality of DATASUS/Ministry of Health available on the website were used. Rates of perinatal and fetal mortality per 1,000 births and early neonatal mortality per 1,000 live births were calculated. The Pearson’s Qui-square test for differences in proportions, sequence (runs) test, the calculation of moving averages and linear coefficient of determination (R 2 ) were used for trend analysis. The Wigglesworth classification of causes of death was used. RESULTS The rates of perinatal mortality showed a decreasing trend, of -42.0% in the period (from 33.1 (2000) to 19.2 (2009)), with a greater share of rates of neonatal mortality (-56.3%). Fetal mortality accounted for a large proportion (61.9%) of rates of perinatal mortality in 2009. The classification of deaths showed the following most frequent causes of perinatal deaths: intrapartum asphyxia (8.8/1,000), immaturity (7.1/1,000) and congenital malformations (1.3/1,000). CONCLUSIONS :Perinatal mortality remains high despite the downward trend, and the predominance of fetal mortality indicates recent changes in the profile of causes of death and impact on prevention activities. The quality of prenatal care with risk control and improving care during the delivery may reduce the occurrence of preventable causes of death. .