Study finds high rates of preterm birth, stillbirth at Kawempe Hospital

What the report says

A new study at Kawempe National Referral Hospital in Kampala has found persistently high rates of stillbirth, preterm birth and neonatal mortality among women delivering there, with outcomes above Uganda’s national estimates, according to The Independent Uganda and URN. The research reported a stillbirth rate of 26.3 per 1,000 total births, compared with a national figure of 17 per 1,000 deliveries, while preterm birth was recorded at 110.9 per 1,000 births.

The study also found neonatal mortality at 22.5 per 1,000 live births, with greater risk among babies born prematurely. Between September 2020 and March 2023, 3,423 women were enrolled at the hospital; the researchers said nearly all were followed through delivery and most remained in the study for nine months afterward. The work was carried out by scientists linked to Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University Research Collaboration and St George’s University, London, as part of a broader multi-country project.

The article says the wider study spans Malawi, South Africa, the Netherlands, France and Italy and is intended to help build evidence for possible Group B Streptococcus vaccines in sub-Saharan Africa. GBS is a bacterial infection that can cause severe illness in newborns, including sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis. More broadly, the findings underscore the need for stronger measures to reduce infection-related newborn deaths and other adverse pregnancy outcomes in Uganda.