ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2021
The effect of inter-pregnancy interval on stillbirth in urban South Ethiopia: a community-based prospective cohort study.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perinatal mortality in eastern Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026Pooled it
- The rate of stillbirth and its associated factors in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled estimates of stillbirth in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis, 2013-2024.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Patterns and determinants of short and long interpregnancy intervals among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a population-based cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Determinants of birth asphyxia in urban south Ethiopia.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The risk of perinatal mortality following short inter-pregnancy intervals-insights from 692 402 pregnancies in 113 Demographic and Health Surveys from 46 countries: a population-based analysis.The Lancet. Global health · 2023Article
- Determinants of postpartum uterine atony in urban South Ethiopia: a community-based unmatched nested case-control study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Short interpregnancy interval and its predictors in Ethiopia: implications for policy and practice.The Pan African medical journal · 2022Article
- Effects of HIV Infection on Pregnancy Outcomes Among Women Attending Antenatal Care in Referral Hospitals of the Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia: A Prospective Cohort Study.International journal of women's health · 2022Article
- Timely Initiation of Antenatal Care and its Determinants Among Pregnant Women in Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.SAGE open nursingArticle
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStillbirth is an invisible and poorly understood adverse pregnancy outcome that remains a challenge in clinical practice in low-resource settings. It is also a key concern in Ethiopia where more than half of pregnancies occur shortly after preceding childbirth. Whether the interval between pregnancies has an effect on stillbirth or not is unclear. Therefore, we aimed to assess the effect of inter-pregnancy interval on stillbirth in urban South Ethiopia.
methodsA community-based prospective cohort study was conducted among 2578 pregnant women and followed until delivery. Baseline data were collected at the household level during registration and enrolment. End-line data were collected from hospitals during delivery. Exposed groups were pregnant women with inter-pregnancy intervals < 18 months and 18-23 months. Unexposed group contains women with inter-pregnancy intervals 24-60 months. A generalized linear model for binary outcome was applied, using R version 4.0.5 software. Relative risk (RR) was used to estimate the effect size with a 95% confidence level. Attributable fraction (AF) and population attributable fraction (PAF) were used to report the public health impact of exposure.
resultsThe overall incidence of stillbirth was 15 per 1000 total births, (95% CI: 11, 20%). However, the incidence was varied across months of inter-pregnancy intervals; 30 (< 18 months), 8 (18-23 months) and 10 (24-60 months) per 1000 total births. The risk of stillbirth was nearly four times (ARR = 3.55, 95%CI: 1.64, 7.68) higher for women with inter-pregnancy interval < 18 months as compared to 24-60 months. This means, about 72% (AF = 72, 95%CI: 39, 87%) of stillbirth among the exposed group (inter-pregnancy interval < 18 months category) and 42% (PAF = 42, 95%CI: 23, 50%) of stillbirth in the study population were attributed to inter-pregnancy interval < 18 months. These could be prevented with an inter-pregnancy interval that is at least 18 months or longer.
conclusionsInter-pregnancy interval under 18 months increases the risk of stillbirth in this population in urban South Ethiopia. Interventions targeting factors contributing to short inter-pregnancy intervals could help in reducing the risk of stillbirth. Improving contraceptive utilization in the community could be one of these interventions.
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