Stillbirth is an unfortunate event in a woman life which remains uncounted in developing countries, thus, seldom caught attention until recently. Among 3.2 million stillbirths globally, 98% occurs in LMICs with majority in South Asia, and 75% of those are preventable. Globally, it counts as equal to neonatal deaths and is not mentioned in MGDs, global charters and programs priority. Besides immense information gap, it is mostly not part of vital registration system. Mostly, the data for stillbirths is mostly collected in demographic surveys, clinical studies or retrospective records, underestimating the counts. Besides, lack of optimal national vital registration system, Pakistan has highest rate of stillbirth. Hence, to collect prospective data, efforts are made by Department of Paediatrics of Aga Khan University to maintain a Demographic & Health Surveillance System (DHSS) at Karachi to provide more robust data over years.
Objective
To describe characteristic of stillbirth in a diverse population in Karachi health and demographic surveillance system.