Infant Outcome, Fetal Growth, and Pregnancy Care: Relationships in Indonesian University Obstetrics

The risk of perinatal death is displayed for "56 growth combinations" then contracted into 16 gestational age/birth weight categories (GA/BW) with an additional control for antenatal visits (AV; CARE) for 36000 singleton births monitored in Indonesia between 1978-80. For virtually all of the GA/BW combinations the risk of perinatal death (PD) drops dramatically with pregnancy care (care effect on PD). Fetal growth curves are thus displayed by infant outcome the BW difference being the deficit birth weight which may serve as a specific life-death growth standard. This allows for the study of fetal growth curves which have been controlled for factors other than infant outcome. By controlling for maternal education and pregnancy care the fetal growth curve associated with high pregnancy and low education is more favorable than that for low pregnancy and high education. In Indonesia pregnancy care is thus more important than formal education in the reduction of both perinatal mortality and low birth weight. (authors)