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Maternal factors associated with stillbirth among women in Marsabit County, Kenya

Stillbirth refers to fetal death occurring at or after 28 weeks of gestation. Worldwide, 130 million babies are born every year and approximately 4 million are stillborn; more than 98% of these deaths occur in developing countries. The government of the Republic of Kenya has put in place several measures, such as the National Health Insurance Fund and Free Child Delivery Programmes for pregnant women, in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals on health. However, the problem of stillbirth continues to prevail in the country. This study sought to determine maternal factors associated with occurrence of stillbirth in selected hospitals in Marsabit County, Kenya. The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive study design, targeting 387 women who delivered in selected hospitals in Marsabit County, to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 24.0 while qualitative data were analysed using N-Vivo software version 11. Inferential statistics were calculated using Chi Square and Fisher's Exact Tests at 95% confidence interval and P<0.05 was considered significant. The rate of stillbirth occurrence was 5.9%. Maternal factors significantly associated with the occurrence of stillbirth included antenatal attendance (P=0.031), use of illicit drugs (P=0.041), low maternal weight (P=0.043) and tough domestic work (P=0.004). The respondents from Marsabit County experienced relative high rates of stillbirth compared to the national figure. The outcome of delivery was significantly influenced by maternal factors. These results may help address the high rate of stillbirth across the country and improve the delivery outcomes of pregnancies among mothers delivering in public hospitals.