Determinants of fetal mortality in Zambia.

Abstract

A pregnancy that does not terminate into a live birth is a public health concern. The aim of the paper was to determine factors associated with fetal deaths in Zambia. This paper uses data from the 2013/2014 Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS) and used a cross sectional study design. The study was purely quantitative and was conducted through structured interviews. A representative sample of 18,052 households was drawn and interviewed women in the reproductive age group 15-49. The results showed that only 5.3% women in Zambia had a fetal death. The multivariate logistic regression findings indicate that the odds of having a fetal death was 1.46 (CI: 1.20-1.79) higher for women whose health care was decided by their partner; increasing maternal age increased the odds of having a fetal death by 1.02 (CI: 1.01-1.03) and the odds of having a fetal death was lower for women who had children or a child alive. Evaluating factors associated with fetal death makes it possible to recognize that interventions in some social, economic, demographic and maternal factors is key in the reduction and prevention of adverse birth outcomes such as fetal deaths.