Table 1 Childbirth population (number of births) characteristics of 16 hospitals of Benin, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda (July 2021 to December 2023)

Stillbirth

1,893 (7.2)

944 (1.9)

369 (1.5)

1,680 (4.5)

 Antepartum stillbirth

1,101 (4.2)

469 (0.9)

159 (0.7)

1,005 (2.7)

 Intrapartum stillbirth

792 (3.0)

475 (0.9)

210 (0.9)

675 (1.8)

 Perinatal deaths

2,110 (8.0)

1,285 (2.5)

469 (2.0)

2,016 (5.4)

 Gestational age (mean, s.d.)

38.2 (2.4)

37.8 (1.6)

38.7 (2.2)

38.4 (2.1)

 Maternal age (≥35 years)

3,943 (14.9)

4,424 (8.8)

3,792 (15.9)

3,340 (9.0)

 Referred to hospital during childbirth

14,191 (53.8)

4,629 (9.2)

1,133 (4.8)

5,246 (14.2)

 HIV positive

353 (1.6)

1,658 (3.8)

730 (3.1)

1,191 (3.4)

 Hypertensive disorders

5,032 (19.1)

877 (1.7)

1,129 (4.7)

1,815 (4.9)

 Two or more pregnancies

19,100 (72.4)

27,542 (54.6)

15,325 (64.4)

24,760 (66.4)

 Sex (female)

13,866 (52.6)

26,033 (51.6)

12,022 (50.5)

18,595 (49.8)

 Preterm births

4,432 (17.0)

5,284 (10.6)

3,197 (13.5)

3,935 (11.1)

 Low birth weight (<2,500 g)

4,982 (19.0)

6,262 (12.4)

2,652 (11.1)

3,415 (9.2)

 Prolonged/obstructed labor

1,617 (6.1)

4,210 (8.3)

2,390 (10.0)

2,540 (6.8)

 Spontaneous vaginal

13,578 (51.5)

41,171 (81.5)

16,887 (70.9)

26,852 (72.0)

 Cesarean

12,477 (47.3)

8,561 (17.0)

6,758 (28.4)

10,347 (27.7)

 Assisted vaginal birth

332 (1.3)

759 (1.5)

165 (0.7)

120 (0.3)

Antepartum hemorrhage

740 (2.8)

350 (0.7)

170 (0.7)

663 (1.8)

 Mean temperature, °C (s.d.)

26.9 (1.2)

20.1 (2.9)

24.8 (1.6)

22.1 (0.8)

 Minimum temperature, °C (s.d.)

25.0 (1.1)

15.3 (3.1)

20.3 (2.0)

18.8 (0.8)

 Maximum temperature, °C (s.d.)

29.8 (1.8)

25.2 (3.0)

30.2 (2.2)

25.9 (1.4)