Thrombophilia and stillbirth: possible connection by intrauterine growth restriction

Objective To define the association between thrombophilia and unexplained stillbirth. Design A case-control study. Setting Obstetric department in a university affiliated hospital (Ha'Emek Medical Center, Afula). Population A total of 53 women who delivered stillborns between March 1998 and June 2002 and 59 women with unremarkable obstetric history who delivered at the same period. Methods Presence of genetic and acquired markers of thrombophilia was investigated. Main outcome measure Presence or absence of thrombophilia. Results Thrombophilia was found in 34% of the women who delivered stillborns and in 20% of the 59 women with normal pregnancies (non-significant). However, significantly higher prevalence of thrombophilia (73%) was found in women who delivered small for gestational age stillborns compared with women who delivered normal birthweight stillborns (73% vs 18.4%, P < 0.0001). Conclusions There is no association between thrombophilia and stillbirth, overall. However, there is a clear association between thrombophilia and stillbirth of extremely growth restricted infants.