Placenta previa: neonatal death after live births in the United States.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to describe neonatal mortality rates among live births that were complicated by placenta previa in the United States.


METHODS
This was a population-based retrospective cohort study of 1997 United States singleton live births. Neonatal deaths among pregnancies that were complicated by placenta previa were compared with deaths among pregnancies with no placenta previa. Adjusted and unadjusted hazard ratios were generated from a proportional hazards regression model.


RESULTS
Of 3,773,369 live births, 9656 were complicated by placenta previa (2.6 cases per 1000). Among cases of placenta previa, 114 neonatal deaths occurred (11.8 per 1000) versus 14951 (4 per 1000) among non-placenta previa neonates (P <.0001). The adjusted relative risk of death was three times higher among placenta previa neonates (hazard ratio, 3.06; 95% CI, 2.40-3.94). Placenta previa-related death was mediated through preterm delivery rather than small for gestational age.


CONCLUSIONS
Placenta previa triples the rate of neonatal mortality, which is mediated mainly through preterm birth.
Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 320 Ryals Building, 1665 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35294-0022, USA. hsalihu@uab.edu
Hamisu M
HM
Salihu
Qing
Q
Li
Dwight J
DJ
Rouse
Greg R
GR
Alexander
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000209:etiology; D010923:Placenta Previa / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D011247:Pregnancy; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology