Sociodemographic and Medical Factors of Preterm Delivery According to the Clinical Subtypes of Prematurity

Abstract

Background: Preterm delivery is defined as childbirth occurring at <37 completed weeks. Preterm birth remains one of the most importantproblems in pregnancy, as it is still a major health problem worldwide, which results in 75% of neonatal mortality. Often, the cause of pretermdelivery is unknown; however, several etiological risk factors have been identified. Objective: The objective of this study was to examinesociodemographic and medical risk factors of preterm delivery in relation to clinical subtypes as follows: extremely preterm (<28 weeks), verypreterm (28 up to 32 weeks), and moderate‑to‑late preterm (32 up to 37 weeks). Materials and Methods: It is a descriptive hospital‑basedcross‑sectional study which was carried out on a convenient sample of 200 preterm babies who were cared for in the neonatal care units inBabylon Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital, Hilla General Teaching Hospital whose mothers accepted to participate in this study. This studywas conducted over 5 months from March 1, 2018 to August 1, 2018. Results: Thirty‑nine percent of respondent mothers had a history ofabortion and (18.0%) had a history of recurrent preterm birth. Spontaneous preterm delivery (premature rupture of membrane) was the mode ofdelivery in (53.5%) of mothers and (49.5%) of respondents were multigravida. As high as (43.5%) of respondent mothers had current medicalillnesses, hypertension representing (33.33%) of these illnesses. Forty percent of mothers had irregular ANC and (15.5%) did not have anyantenatal care at all. Conclusion: Several significant risk associations between preterm birth according to clinical subtypes of prematurity andthe following risk factors were identified as follows: maternal age, gravidity, birth order, BMI, educational level, mode of delivery, history ofabortion, contraceptive use before pregnancy, and genetic defects.