Spatial scanning for the identification of risk areas for fetal death: an ecological study in Pernambuco.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiological characteristics and the use of the spatial scanning technique to identify clusters of fetal deaths in Pernambuco, between 2013 and 2022. METHOD: An ecological study having the municipalities as the unit of analysis, carried out in Pernambuco. Data from the Mortality and Live Birth Information Systems have been used. The relative risk of fetal death was calculated, and descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were applied to compare proportions by five-year period. For the spatial analysis, the spatial scanning statistics technique was applied. RESULTS: A total of 15,336 fetal deaths were recorded, being that 8,132 (53%) were in the first five-year period (2013 to 2017). The variables maternal age, maternal education, type of delivery, fetal sex and birth weight, death in relation to delivery, and place of death, have been related to the five-year periods. Health regions V, VI, VII, and XI presented clusters with a high risk of death. CONCLUSION: The characterization of fetal deaths allows us to understand the circumstances that led to these deaths. The clusters with the highest risk of death indicate priority regions for health planning interventions to improve the maternal and child care network.