Abstract:

Abstract Obstetricians and health personnel in general know that multiple pregnancy is a high obstetric risk factor for fetal mortality; however, when weight at delivery is controlled, it is observed that in the categories lower than this variable, fetuses from multiple pregnancies have a lower risk of fetal mortality than those from single pregnancies. It is even verified that fetal survival is longer in the first for the mentioned categories. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how multiple pregnancy is a high obstetric risk factor when the weight at delivery is high and how this situation is reversed for those classified as low weight and immature. The data were obtained from the databases of perinatal deaths and live births corresponding to the National Directorate of Statistics of the Ministry of Public Health and the National Statistics Office, respectively. Fetal mortality rates were calculated according to weight categories and the type of pregnancy, which made it possible to find the excess mortality of multiple pregnancies compared to single ones. Life tables were also elaborated, with which it was possible to estimate the fetal permanence or survival function, according to the type of pregnancy. As a relevant result, it was obtained that the fetuses of multiple pregnancies are presumably better prepared than those of the single type to face the effect of low weight and immaturity, which places them in a relative position of advantage to also face the risk of death during the first pregnancy. year of life

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