Purpose: Perinatal mortality has been decreasing in Europe thanks to a reduction in neonatal mortality. The causes of fetal mortality remain poorly studied. The objective was to determine the late fetal mortality rate in Spain in 2015 and the associated factors.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using data regarding births in 2015 in Spain extracted from the National Institute of Statistics. Single births at 28 or more weeks of pregnancy were included. The sample comprised 340,371 births. Sociodemographic, obstetrical and neonatal variables were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression (MLR), with the fetal mortality from 28 weeks of pregnancy as the dependent variable.
Results: The total number of late fetal deaths was 884 (2.6 × 1000). The MLR model showed that the following factors were associated with late fetal mortality: birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy (OR 13.1); weight of the newborn < 2500 g (OR 3.22) and ≥ 4000 g (OR 3.36); low training level (OR 2.28); and others, such as African origin, maternal age ≥ 35 years, primiparity and mothers who were single.
Conclusions: The rate of late fetal mortality in Spain has not decreased and has remained at the same level as in 2010. This result is related to prematurity, low birth weight, macrosomia and sociodemographic factors, such as low maternal preparation, mothers of African origin, age ≥ 35 years and mothers who are single. It is necessary to improve the quality and accessibility of prenatal care and the early detection of risk factors.
Keywords: Late fetal mortality; Perinatal mortality; Risk factors; Stillbirth.