An in‑depth analysis of perinatal related mortality among women of South Asian ethnicity in Aotearoa New Zealand

Summary

This study highlights how women of South Asian ethnicity in Aotearoa NZ were at increased risk of stillbirth and neonatal death compared with NZ European women, although only at extremely preterm (< 24 weeks) and post-term (≥ 41 weeks) gestations. While there were no major differences in established risk factors for stillbirth and neonatal death by ethnicity, metabolic-related factors were more common among South Asian women, which may contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes in this ethnic group.
The study used clinical data from perinatal deaths between 2008 and 2017 provided by the NZ Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee, and linked national maternity and neonatal data, and singleton birth records from the same decade, from the Statistics NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure for all births.