Obstetric practice in St Kitts and the Homerton Hospital, London
Hayes, C.; Walker, K.
British Journal of Hospital Medicine 40(6): 472-474
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0007-1064 PMID: 3265881 Document Number: 308589
Birth records were collected from Homerton Hospital from the London Borough of Hackney and in St. Kitts in order to ascertain the incidence of low birth weight (2.5 kg) and very low birth weight (1.5 kg); and relevant maternal factors (smoking, age, pre-pregnancy weight, and disease). St. Kitts averages 1000 deliveries per year compared with 400 each year at the Homerton Hospital. Birth records of 4 years (1984-87) were examined in St. Kitts, and they were compared with records from 1987 in the Homerton Hospital. Babies were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 (1.5 kg), and Group 2 (2.5 kg). Data from the whole of England were used for comparison. The incidence of Group 1 babies in St. Kitts (1.9%) and in the Homerton Hospital (1.8%) was similar, but both differed significantly from the national figure of 1%. The incidence of babies weighing 2.5 kg was lower in the Homerton sample (9.5%) than in the St. Kitts population (11.1%), but both exceeded the national rate (7.2%). Poverty and poor maternal nutrition not race were common in both populations. Stillbirth rates differed greatly between Homerton (7.2/1000) and St. Kitts (15.9/1000). Perinatal mortality was 35/1000 in St. Kitts and 13.1/1000 at Homerton. In Group 1 stillbirths made up 26.5% of all deliveries in St. Kitts vs. 13% at Homerton. Antenatal care with screening procedures for congenital abnormalities (maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein, amniocentesis, and ultrasonography) were not available in St. Kitts. The survival rate of Group 2 babies was 902/1000 in St. Kitts and 956/1000 at Homerton; and the same rate for Group 1 babies was 656/1000 in St. Kitts and 817/1000 at Homerton. Antenatal care improvement is requisite for improving perinatal mortality figures.