Impact of introduction of the growth assessment protocol in a South Indian tertiary hospital on SGA detection, stillbirth rate and neonatal outcome

Abstract

Abstract Objectives India has a high rate of stillbirths, and many deaths are due to fetal growth restriction and potentially preventable. Screening and identification of the small for gestational age (SGA) fetus during the antenatal period has been shown to reduce stillbirths. We set out to evaluate the impact of implementing the Growth Assessment Protocol (GAP), a programme designed for screening for SGA. Methods Observational study comparing two-time epochs; before (years 2011–2014) and after (years 2015–2018) introduction of GAP. The programme includes identification of risk factors, risk categorization, serial fundal height measurement, customised fetal growth charts and appropriate referral protocols. Fetal growth charts and birth centiles were generated based on the hospital database of normal outcome pregnancies, customised to women’s ethnicity, parity, height, and weight. The protocol was introduced following training of obstetric and midwifery care providers. We evaluated SGA detection rates, stillbirth rates (from 28 weeks) and neonatal morbidity at term. Results There were 26,199 and 31,498 births, with 115 and 108 stillbirths in the pre and post-GAP implementation periods, respectively. SGA detection rates increased from 51.1 to 67.1%, representing a 31% improvement (p<0.001). Overall stillbirth rates declined from 4.4 to 3.4 per 1000 births (RR 0.78 CI 95% 0.60–1.02) and at term from 1.5 to 0.6 (RR 0.37 CI 95% 0.20–0.66). Neonatal intensive care admission and neonatal encephalopathy in term neonates also decreased significantly. Conclusions Introduction of the GAP programme in an Indian tertiary maternity service was associated with improved antenatal detection of SGA and reduced stillbirth rates and neonatal morbidity.