Explanatory Notes

Presented in this release are data on fetal deaths occurring in 2004 and registered from January 2004 to March 2005. Statistics on vital events are based on information obtained from the Fetal Death Certificates (Municipal Form No. 103 -A) transmitted by the City/Municipal Civil Registrars to the Office of the Civil Registrar General for processing and archiving. No adjustments for underregistration were made in the analysis.

Fetal death refers to death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction of the product of conception from its mother, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy. The death is indicated by the fact that after such separation, the fetus neither breathe nor show any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of the voluntary muscles.

Fetal death ratio is 5.2

In 2004, the number of fetal deaths reported was 8,935. The fetal death ratio was computed at 5.2 per 1,000 of 1,710,994 live births. Daily occurrence was 25 fetal deaths or about one per hour.

Fetal deaths declined very slightly by about 0.6 percent from the 2003 count and by 4.3 percent from the 2002.

Most fetal deaths are medically attended

Records show that about seven in every 10 fetal deaths (6,418 or 71.8%) were medically attended, 1,534 (17.2%) were attended to by nonmedical personnel, and the remaining 983 (11%) had no stated attendant. The ratio of medically attended to nonmedically attended fetal deaths was 4.18. NCR registered the highest ratio of 1,706 medically attended for every 100 nonmedically attended fetal deaths. On the other end, Bicol registered a ratio of 146, the lowest among regions

In general, six out of ten fetal deaths reported were attended to by physicians (5,552 or 62.1 percent) while 1,437 or 16.1 percent were attended to by traditional birth attendants (hilots).

Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight are the leading causes of fetal death

The top three leading causes of fetal deaths accounted for 85.6 percent of the fetal deaths. Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified were the leading causes of fetal death (4,472 or 50.1%), followed by intrauterine hypoxia (899 or 10.1%), and other congenital malformations, not elsewhere classified (321 or 3.6%).

The top 10 causes of fetal deaths composed 71.1 percent of total fetal deaths.

Median age of mothers with fetal death cases is 29

The highest frequency of fetal deaths occurred to mothers aged 25-29 years old. This age group included the median age of mother in which fetal deaths occurred - 29 years.

On the other hand, the least number of fetal deaths occurred to mothers who were in their menopausal ages with four cases. For teenage mothers below 15 years of age, there were 10 fetal deaths reported.

About one fourth of fetal deaths is born to mothers 25-29 years old

The length of pregnancy of most fetal deaths was 35-39 weeks. Approximately one in every four cases (25.9 percent or 555) of fetal deaths was born to mothers aged 25-29 years.

The median age of mothers with fetal deaths under 24 weeks of gestation was 27.2 years and 29.5 years for those with fetal deaths whose gestation period lasted for 40 weeks and over.

Moreover, reports showed that those with more male fetal deaths (5,005 or 56.0%) than females (3,882 or 43.5%)

Seven out of ten fetal deaths are legitimate

Seven out of ten fetal deaths (6,256 or 70.0%) were born to couples who were legally married. Fetal deaths with illegitimate status accounted for the remaining 2,679 (30.0%).

The National Capital Region (NCR) registered the most number of fetal deaths (1,935 cases or 21.7 percent of the total). Similarly, NCR had the highest percentage of "illegitimate" fetal deaths with 824 or 30.8 percent. Calabarzon, meanwhile, had the biggest report of "legitimate" fetal deaths with 1,219 or 19.5 percent.