Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze the clinical characteristics of stillbirths in high-altitude areas, strengthen monitoring of high-risk pregnant women, improve maternal health care levels, and reduce perinatal mortality rates. METHODS: A retrospective collection of 126 cases of stillbirth in Nyingchi People's Hospital from 2015 to 2021 was divided into an pre-stage group (2015-2019,87 cases) and a post-stage group (2020-2021,39 cases). The incidence of stillbirth and clinical characteristics were compared between the two groups. The cases were classified into maternal factors, fetal factors, placenta/membrane/umbilical cord factors, and unknown causes, and the clinical characteristics and possible etiologies of different gestational ages and antenatal examination situations were analyzed. RESULT: The overall incidence of stillbirth in the high-altitude area of this study was 2.36%, with2.07% in the pre-stage group and 3.43% in the post-stage group. There were significant differences between the two groups in gestational age and antenatal examination situation (P = 0.003 and 0.008). The main causes of stillbirth were maternal factors (45.28%), followed by placenta/membrane and umbilical cord factors (28.30%), unknown causes (17.61%), and fetal factors (8.81%). The main causes of stillbirth include hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes, severe anemia, and fetal malformatiohypertensive disorder complicating pregnancyns. CONCLUSION: This study provides new insights into the prevention and management of stillbirths in high-altitude areas, particularly in terms of maternal factors such as gestational hypertension and severe anemia, by analyzing the clinical characteristics and influencing factors of 126 cases of stillbirths in high-altitude areas. Therefore, this study suggests strengthening prenatal and antenatal health care management to reduce the risk of stillbirth, improve pregnancy outcomes, and promote maternal and child health.