<p>Unattended Pregnancies and Perinatal Mortality in Georgia</p>

Abstract

Introduction: The majority of pregnant women in Georgia attend the free-of-charge, national antenatal care (ANC) programme, but over 5% of pregnancies in the country are unattended. Moreover, Georgia has one of the highest perinatal mortality (PM) rates in Europe (11.7/1000 births). Purpose: To assess the association between unattended pregnancies and the risk of PM. Methods: Data were extracted from the Georgian Birth Registry (GBR) and the national vital registration system. All mothers who had singleton births and delivered in medical facilities in Georgia in 2017-2018 were included in the study and categorised into attended pregnancies (at least one ANC visit during pregnancy) and unattended pregnancies (no ANC visits during pregnancy). After exclusions, the study sample included 101,663 women and their newborns, of which 1186 were either stillborn or died within 7 days. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the effect of unattended pregnancies on PM. Results: During the study period, the PM rate was 12.9/1000 births. In total, 5.6% of women had unattended pregnancies. The odds of PM among women with unattended pregnancies were more than double those among women with attended pregnancies (odds ratio=2.21, [95% confidence interval: 1.81-2.70]). Multiparous women with higher education and who resided/delivered outside of Tbilisi were significantly less likely to experience PM. Conclusion: The risk of PM doubled among women with unattended pregnancies. Six percent of PM cases were attributable to unattended pregnancies. Targeting women with previous unattended pregnancies will likely reduce the PM rate in Georgia.

The impact of antenatal care utilization on admissions to neonatal intensive care units and perinatal mortality in Georgia

“…The proportion of women attending four ANC visits and initiating ANC before GA week 12 is increasing; however, these numbers are still far from Georgia’s target of 100% by 2030 [ 24 ]. Our previous study showed that women who did not attend any ANC visits during pregnancy had two-fold higher odds of PM compared to women who attended at least one ANC visit [ 25 ].…”

Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding constipation in pregnancy among pregnant women in Shanghai: a cross-sectional study

“…Firstly, it is encouraging to observe that being a medical professional and receiving education on constipation during pregnancy were independently associated with higher knowledge scores. This suggests that healthcare providers can play a crucial role in disseminating accurate information to pregnant women, potentially by integrating essential education into routine antenatal care ( 22 , 23 ). Nevertheless, despite this generally positive trend, certain groups displayed a less favorable attitude, notably pregnant women in later stages of pregnancy and those who have experienced constipation during pregnancy or before.…”

Quality of registration of antenatal, intrapartum, and newborn information in the Georgian Birth Registry

“…Both antenatal care (ANC) and childbirth in hospitals are covered by the government. Hence, most women (99.8% in 2021) deliver in a birth facility and have at least one ANC visit during pregnancy (94.4%) [1,2]. Georgia has reached the millennium development goal for under-5 child mortality, but the infant (9.0 per 1,000 live births in 2021) and perinatal (10.9 per 1,000 births in 2021) mortality rates remain among the highest in Europe [1].…”