Prevalence and Predictors of Stillbirths Following Vaginal Delivery at the Tumu Municipality of the Upper West Region, Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study Design

Background: Low-and middle-income countries still have unacceptably high rates that make it imperative to identify local factors that predict stillbirths to effectively develop interventions.The study aimed to identify the prevalence and predictors of stillbirths among singleton pregnant mothers who gave birth in health facilities in the Tumu municipality in the Upper West Region of Ghana.Methods: Using a retrospective cross-sectional study design, 1168 women who had vaginal deliveries had their medical records reviewed.From January 1 to December 31, 2019, information on vaginal deliveries was gathered from hospital records.The data were summarised using descriptive statistics, and the relationship between maternal and obstetric characteristics and stillbirths was investigated using Pearson's chi-square/Fisher's exact test.To evaluate the predictors of stillbirth, a logistic regression analysis was fitted at a 95% confidence interval (95% CI), and the results were reported using an odds ratio.Results: Among the 1168 women, 614 (52.57%) were within the age group of 20 -29 years; 804 (68.84%) of mothers were multigravida, and 852 (72.95%) attended ANC between 4 to 8 times.The overall prevalence of stillbirths was 12.80 per 1000 total births.Women who attended ANC between 4 -8 times were 93% less likely to record a stillbirth (AOR 0.07 (0.017 -0.294) p-value 0.001).Women whose labour was not monitored using a partograph were more than