Perinatal mortality in Saudi Arabia: Profile from a private setup

Objective: Our study aimed to ascertain rates and most frequent causes of perinatal mortality in a major tertiary care private maternity and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setup in Saudi Arabia. We also conducted a comparative analysis with the perinatal mortality rates (PMRs) from public setup in Saudi Arabia as well as the most recent global and regional data. Study Design: This was a retrospective, analytic, and comparative study. Methodology: One-year data (from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017) were ascertained from the Electronic Patient Medical Records database (VIDA) as well as the annual reports of four tertiary care maternity units and NICUs of Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group in Saudi Arabia. The data were analyzed using Excel. The outcomes were compared with the 2015 data published by the Global Burden of Disease study and 2015 data published by the Euro-Peristat Study. Results: The total number of deliveries during the study period was 14,339, whereas the total number of births was 14,593 (live births 14,543 + stillbirths 50). Perinatal deaths were 80 (50 stillbirths + 30 early neonatal mortality [ENM]). PMR was 5.48/1000 (stillbirth rate: 3.42/1000, ENM rate: 2.06/1000). Third-trimester perinatal deaths were 31 and third-trimester PMR 4.18/1000. Majority of perinatal deaths were either due to congenital anomalies and/or prematurity. The perinatal mortality outcomes were comparable with countries with a high sociodemographic index. Conclusions: The PMRs in Saudi Arabia's private setup is lower than the public setup. This may be reflective of differences in the sociodemographic and economic status of the population being served by public and private sectors as well as a difference in the level of care provided by each sector. A large prospective, multicenter study conducted over a period of 5–10 years to assess differential perinatal outcomes, their underlying factors, and the causes of high incidence of major and futile congenital fetal anomalies is warranted.