The last 40 years have been significantly fewer embryos die at gestational week 37-43, but many women experience fetal death in gestational week 16-22.
Since 1967, the risk of fetal death was reduced by almost 70 percent of pregnancies that last longer than 22 weeks. The largest decrease is seen for the 37-43 week of pregnancy. The results are presented in a Norwegian study recently pre-published online in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG). The study includes all births in Norway between 1967-2006 and is registered in the Medical Birth Registry.
Monitoring and follow-up
the first author of the study, Aahshi Sarfraz, believes there may be several reasons for the large decline: - probably due to better surveillance and monitoring of pregnant women, therefore, the child released earlier onset of complications. Among other things, the use of modern technology in maternity care have done better fetal monitoring possible Such technology is available to all pregnant women and mothers, says Sarfraz to Today's Medicine.
She is a PhD student and a physician at Women's Clinic at the Akershus University Hospital.
Uncertain cause
In the same period there was a doubling of the incidence of fetal death at 16-22 weeks gestation. - The study gives no answer to why the incidence of fetal death has increased in these gestational weeks. A possible explanation may be increased awareness of stillbirth and therefore better registration. The increased incidence of fetal death in early pregnancy may also be that more women are operated on the cervix because of abnormal cells. This operation increases the risk of early fetal death and premature birth. Birth before 22 weeks of pregnancy are usually not compatible with life, says Sarfraz.
Source - http://www.dagensmedisin.no/nyheter/2011/01/10/betydelig-nedgang-i-foster/
