A silent link between stillbirth and maternal anaemia: evidence from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey

BACKGROUND: Stillbirth is a critical public health concern in India, with maternal anaemia being a significant contributing factor. Anaemia often resulting from a nutritional deficiciencies, has been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes including stillbirth. This study aims to investigate the relationship between anaemia and the risk of stillbirth in India, incorporating data from the fifth wave of the National Family Health Survey. METHODS: We utilized data from the fifth wave of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) in India, utilizing information from 204,723 women 15-49 years of age who experienced a pregnancy in the five years preceding the survey. Calculations of stillbirth were performed via calendar data, which yielded reliable estimates. Descriptive statistics and results from bivariate analysis with chi-square tests have been reported to measure the prevalence. Furthermore, the study employed logistic regression to assess the relationship between stillbirth and maternal anaemia, adjusting for socioeconomic and maternal factors. RESULTS: Stepwise logistic regression estimates revealed that women who have anaemia during pregnancy have a greater risk of stillbirth than non-anaemic women do, and this risk remains greater in the deduced models. We found that anaemic women have a stillbirth rate of 16.5 per 1000 total births, significantly higher than that of non-anaemic women (14.7 per 1000 total births). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that maternal anaemia increases the risk of stillbirth. Special attention is needed to reduce the prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age to decrease the burden of adverse pregnancy outcomes.