Obstetrics and childbirth at the Aitape Health Centre, Papua New Guinea.

Routinely collected obstetric data at the Aitape Health Centre, Papua New Guinea over the years 1986, 1988 and 1989 were analyzed and compared with figures from western New Guinea of about thirty years ago and with those of rural African hospitals. Data from 924 deliveries were analyzed. 30% were born before arrival (BBA). The number of abnormal deliveries was high. This was in part due to the high frequency of twin births (4.5%). Among the BBAs puerperal sepsis and stillbirth were significantly higher than among those who delivered in the health centre. The stillbirth frequency was 3.4%. The sex ratio male:female at birth was 120.9. The large number of retained placentae with manual removal (5.2%) was related to high parity; 33.5% of the women delivering at the health centre were para-4 or more. 20% of male and 24% of female newborns had low birthweight (less than 2500g).