Avoidable causes of perinatal death at or after term pregnancy in an inner-city hospital: medical versus social.

A retrospective analysis of 174 consecutive singleton perinatal deaths at or after term pregnancy in an inner-city hospital was undertaken to determine avoidable causes of death. Adequate material was available in 161 cases. Twenty-eight infants with major malformations were excluded. The remaining 133 infants (95 stillbirths and 38 neonatal deaths) constituted the study population. An avoidable cause was defined as departure from the recognized standards of perinatal care that contributed to the deaths. Avoidable factors were present in 69 of 95 (73%) stillbirths. Contributing maternal/social and obstetric factors were present in 40 of 69 (58%) and 29 of 69 (42%) cases, respectively. Avoidable factors were found in 34 of 38 (89%) neonatal deaths. Contributing obstetric, maternal/social, and pediatric factors were present in 20 of 34 (59%), 12 of 34 (35%), and 2 of 34 (6%) cases, respectively. These results suggest that maternal/social causes were present more often than medical causes as a contributing factor in avoidable perinatal deaths at or after term pregnancy.