FETAL DEATH IN A POPULATION OF BLACK-WOMEN

To describe the clinical causes of fetal death in black women, we perf ormed a record review of the primary causes of fetal deaths (n = 315, greater than or equal to 500 g or greater than or equal to 24 weeks' g estation) occurring over an 11-year period in a population of 26,852 b lack women who delivered at the Chicago Lying-in Hospital, University of Chicago Hospitals, Chicago, IL. The over-all fetal death rate (FDR) per 1,000 total births was 11.7, consistent with U.S. vital statistic s data for blacks. The FDR per 10,000 births attributed to hypertensio n was nine times greater in our population than in a historical compar ison population of Canadian white women: 19.5 (95% CI = 13.7, 25.4) ve rsus 2.2 (P < .0001), respectively, although the prevalence of hyperte nsion was only 1.2 times greater in the population of black women. Fur thermore, hypertension in pregnancy accounted for 15% of the excess fe tal mortality in our population of urban black women as compared to th e population of Canadian white women. Health care providers should be aware of the risk of fetal death in hypertensive, inner-city, U.S. bla ck women.