Social disparity and intrauterine death: from politics to policies

Abstract

Correlation between intrauterine demise (IUD) and social disparity, based on maternal post-code of residence, is assessed in this study in order to find out if there is any correlation between IUD and geographical area. A total of 190 IUD cases from September 2002 to August 2004 were collected retrospectively from the IUD register. The maternity computer health record programme (Terranova–Healthware) was used for the assessment of area of residence of the patient and GP, patient demography and pregnancy details. Data were then entered onto a MS Excel spreadsheet and analysed by a public health statistician and a consultant obstetrician using the IMD-Index of Multiple Deprivation and then on to a graph. The results of this study show that there was a strong correlation between the IMD and the distribution of IUDs. Disparities come at a personal, midwifery and obstetric price. Differential access may lead to disparities in quality.

Keywords::

• Epidemiology
• general obstetrics
• intrauterine death
• social disparity

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.