Risk Factors for Preterm Delivery among Neonates Accessing Care at a Tertiary Hospital in Southeast, Nigeria Risk factors of preterm Delivery and its prevalence in a tertiary hospital.

Abstract

Background: Neonatal death contributes to about 62.5% of the infant mortality rate in Nigeria. Most of these neonatal deaths were from complications of preterm delivery. Preterm birth, being any delivery before 37 completed weeks of gestation results from many implicated preventable risk factors. Objectives: To determine the prevalence and associated risk factors for pre-term delivery among neonates accessing care at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, (NAUTH) Nnewi. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study. Recruitment of neonates that satisfied the inclusion criteria was done consecutively during the one-year study period. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain maternal socio-demographics and antenatal variables during the gestational period of the participants (neonates). Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 and the level of significance was set at P- value < 0.05. Results: Of the 636 neonates recruited, 324(50.9%) were males, and 164 (25.8%) had preterm delivery. The prevalence of preterm delivery was 25.8%. The identified determinants of preterm delivery were: maternal trauma/drainage of liquor (P < 0.001; OR = 16.65; 95% CI =9.60-28.17), maternal eclampsia (P < 0.001; OR= 7.52; 95% CI= 4.33-13.08), multiple deliveries (P<0.001; OR= 7.93; 95% CI= 4.34-14.49), maternal DM (P = 0.002; OR=1.12; 95% CI= 0.59-2.14). Other risk factors significantly associated with preterm delivery include Low birth weight(LBW), low SEC, cesarean section, and multiple pregnancies. Conclusion: Intervention in these risk factors can reduce the high prevalence of preterm delivery.