Epidemiology of Preterm Birth

Abstract

 In perinatal health care, preterm birth is a major challenge and maximum perinatal deaths occur in preterm infants. This study is aimed to find out the incidence of preterm birth and its consequences, besides to assess the etiology and risk factors of preterm birth. A prospective observational study was performed in Neonatal Department, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Kadapa, over a period of six months. All the patients were screened to determine the preterm births and their guardians were interviewed to find consequences of it (if any) and factors which lead to it. The incidence of preterm birth is 13%. The most observed risk factors for preterm births were short interval between consecutive pregnancies 30.8% and poor maternal nutrition 25.6%. About 20 (21.3%) were born before 37 weeks, followed by nine (9.6%) were born before 31 weeks of gestation. Around 37.2% of preterm births were due to spontaneous preterm prelabor and rupture of membranes, followed by 28.7% intrauterine growth retardation as etiological factors for preterm birth. About 28.7% preterm neonates develop sepsis followed by 27.6% neonatal seizures. It is concluded that forecasting and preventing preterm labor and selecting the safest method of delivery are imperative challenges in reducing the incidence of preterm birth. Continued research is needed to identify interventions that will reduce its incidence.

Keywords: incidence, low birth weight, malnutrition, preterm birth, risk factors, socioeconomic characteristics