Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31265456›Full record

SynthesisPLoS medicine2019

Risks of stillbirth and neonatal death with advancing gestation at term: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies of 15 million pregnancies.

Javaid Muglu, Henna Rather, David Arroyo-Manzano, Sohinee Bhattacharya, Imelda Balchin, Asma Khalil, Basky Thilaganathan, Khalid S Khan, Javier Zamora, Shakila Thangaratinam

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PLoS medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
56citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

56 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Induction of labour at or beyond 37 weeks' gestation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020
    Pooled it
  4. Labor induction at 41Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2024
    Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Article
  8. Observational
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Timing of Term Births and Associated Mortality Risks: Ecological Analysis Across 28 European Countries.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025
    Article
  14. Review
  15. Customized Birthweight Standard for the Population in the Republic of Kazakhstan.Maternal-fetal medicine (Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.) · 2025
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Prediction of small-for-gestational age and fetal growth restriction at routine ultrasound examination at 35-37 weeks' gestation.Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2025
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Javaid MugluWomen's and Sexual Health Division, University Hospital Lewisham, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Henna RatherWomen's Division, North Middlesex University Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
David Arroyo-ManzanoClinical Biostatistics Unit, Hospital Ramon y Cajal (IRYCIS) and CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
Sohinee BhattacharyaDugald Baird Centre for Research on Women's Health, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-2358-5860
Imelda BalchinUniversity of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Asma KhalilFetal Medicine Unit, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Basky ThilaganathanFetal Medicine Unit, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Khalid S KhanBarts Research Centre for Women's Health, Women's Health Research Unit, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-5084-7312
Javier ZamoraClinical Biostatistics Unit, Hospital Ramon y Cajal (IRYCIS) and CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-4901-588X
Shakila ThangaratinamBarts Research Centre for Women's Health, Women's Health Research Unit, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-4254-460X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite advances in healthcare, stillbirth rates remain relatively unchanged. We conducted a systematic review to quantify the risks of stillbirth and neonatal death at term (from 37 weeks gestation) according to gestational age. METHODS AND

findingsWe searched the major electronic databases Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar (January 1990-October 2018) without language restrictions. We included cohort studies on term pregnancies that provided estimates of stillbirths or neonatal deaths by gestation week. We estimated the additional weekly risk of stillbirth in term pregnancies that continued versus delivered at various gestational ages. We compared week-specific neonatal mortality rates by gestational age at delivery. We used mixed-effects logistic regression models with random intercepts, and computed risk ratios (RRs), odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Thirteen studies (15 million pregnancies, 17,830 stillbirths) were included. All studies were from high-income countries. Four studies provided the risks of stillbirth in mothers of White and Black race, 2 in mothers of White and Asian race, 5 in mothers of White race only, and 2 in mothers of Black race only. The prospective risk of stillbirth increased with gestational age from 0.11 per 1,000 pregnancies at 37 weeks (95% CI 0.07 to 0.15) to 3.18 per 1,000 at 42 weeks (95% CI 1.84 to 4.35). Neonatal mortality increased when pregnancies continued beyond 41 weeks; the risk increased significantly for deliveries at 42 versus 41 weeks gestation (RR 1.87, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.86, p = 0.012). One additional stillbirth occurred for every 1,449 (95% CI 1,237 to 1,747) pregnancies that advanced from 40 to 41 weeks. Limitations include variations in the definition of low-risk pregnancy, the wide time span of the studies, the use of registry-based data, and potential confounders affecting the outcome.

conclusionsOur findings suggest there is a significant additional risk of stillbirth, with no corresponding reduction in neonatal mortality, when term pregnancies continue to 41 weeks compared to delivery at 40 weeks. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42015013785.

Indexed as

Perinatal DeathPerinatal MortalityTerm BirthFemaleGestational AgeHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMalePregnancyPrognosisRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsStillbirth

Identifiers

PMID31265456
PMCPMC6605635

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.