Perinatal deaths and low birthweight in an urban health centre in the Gambia: A prospective cohort study.

Perinatal deaths (stillbirths after 28 weeks gestation and early neonatal deaths) are rarely reported separately but are the deaths most closely associated with complications during pregnancy, birth and the first days of life. We conducted a prospective cohort study to report perinatal deaths, late neonatal deaths and low birthweight babies as they occur. This cohort of birth outcomes from The Gambia was conducted between 2012 and 2016 and followed 1611 women attending a government-supported health center from the first antenatal visit to 28 days post-delivery.

Mobile Telephone Follow-Up to Ascertain Birth Outcomes in The Gambia.

In the past decade, mobile telephone use has surged in sub-Saharan Africa, creating new opportunities in health care. Mobile telephone interventions have been used in controlled trials to improve perinatal care, but in this first cohort study of birth outcomes from The Gambia, we report the value of mobile telephone follow-up. Between December 2012 and November 2015, 1,611 women entered the cohort at their first antenatal visit to be followed through pregnancy and beyond.