Risk Factors Justification

Maternal Obesity According to Center for Disease Control

and Prevention (2020), recent studies
shows that if a woman is heavy before
she becomes pregnant the greater the
risk of pregnancy complications which
really include fetal death. The explanation
behind the risk of fetal death regarding
with obesity remains unclear. However,
placental inflammation and dysfunction as
well as metabolic and hormonal changes
that is associated with obesity may
contribute to the increased risk of fetal
death. (Amark, 2019). It also shows that
obesity may affect the fetus regarding in
obtaining proper diagnostic test from the
fetus, in the reason that too much fat can
make it difficult to see problems with the
fetus’ anatomy on the ultrasound.
Rh Incompatibility Women who remain untreated with this
disease may produce children with low
blood levels in the body. Yet in
subsequent pregnancies, it may result to
fetal death due to severe antibody-
induced hemolytic anemia. This disease
also leads to fetal heart failure, fluid
retention and swelling. (NHS, 2018)
Infections If infections are untreated it may cause
fetal death by several way, which include
the direct fetal infection, via placental
damage, and sever maternal illness.
There are many bacteria and viruses that
are associated with stillbirth. Maternal
infection can also lead to severe illness
due to high maternal fever, poor
oxygenation or systemic reaction to the
infection may lead the fetus to die without
transmission of organism into the
placenta or fetus. Additionally, if the
placenta is directly infected without fetal
involvement, it may reduce the blood flow
to the fetus resulting in worst case
scenarios which is death. (McClure,
Dudley, Reddy and Goldenberg, 2016)
Diabetes Mellitus Diabetes Mellitus that is not well
controlled can cause the fetus’ blood
 sugar to be high which can also
compromise placental blood flow and
fetal oxygenation and would result to fetal
death. Lethal malformations, placental
abnormalities and Intra Uterine Growth
Restriction are the leading causes of
stillbirth related to diabetes. (Wang,
Athayde, Padmanabhan, and Chueng,
2019)
Hypertension According to Maslovick and Burke (2019),
intrauterine fetal death is considered to
be interchangeable. One common risk
factor for fetal demise is hypertension.
Preeclampsia can impair kidney and liver
function and would also cause blood
clotting problems, pulmonary edema or
the fluid on the lungs, seizures if which
left untreated can affect both of the
mother and fetus inside the womb. It
affects the blood flowing to the placenta
of the fetus leading to premature
deliveries or death.