Adherence to recommended prenatal visit schedules and risk for stillbirth, according to probable cause of death.

OBJECTIVE

Suboptimal prenatal care is linked to increased risk of stillbirth, but this association is not well-understood. The study objective was to evaluate the relationship between prenatal visit adherence and cause of death in stillbirths.

STUDY

DESIGN

This is a secondary analysis from the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network of data with complete cause of death evaluation. Appropriateness of prenatal visit frequency was determined per American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists/American Academy of Pediatrics (ACOG/AAP) recommendations and the novel Michigan Plan for Appropriately Tailored Healthcare in Pregnancy (MiPATH) guidelines. Multivariate regression controlled for differences between groups.

RESULTS

Among 451 stillbirths included, 63.6% and 55.9% were non-adherent to ACOG/AAP and MiPATH recommendations, respectively. Non-adherent parturients according to the Michigan plan were more likely to have a stillbirth due to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

CONCLUSION

Non-adherence to prenatal visit guidelines is associated with higher risk of stillbirth due to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.