Descriptive analysis of risk factors for preterm infants with birth weight

Abstract

Introduction: Prematurity is defined as a birth occurring before the 37th week of amenorrhea, calculated from the 1st day of the last menstrual period and/or an ultrasound scan performed during the first trimester of pregnancy. Premature birth continues to be the world's leading cause of infant and child mortality, sensorimotor disability, and neurodevelopmental difficulties. Objective: Our work aims to describe the incidence and risk factors of prematurity and compare our results with those of other studies.

Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional, retrospective, descriptive study conducted over two years, from June 1, 2021, to June 30, 2023, at the neonatology and neonatal intensive care unit of CHU HASSAN II in Fez. Statistical analyses were performed using the JAMOVI software. Qualitative variables were expressed as frequencies and percentages, while quantitative variables were presented as means with standard deviations (SD) or medians with interquartile ranges (IQR).

Results: The neonatology and neonatal resuscitation department welcomed 241 premature newborns with a birth weight ≤ 1500g, representing 8.80% of all hospitalizations in the department. 127 (53%) were female, and 114 (47%) male. The mean gestational age was 30.6 ± 2.4 weeks of amenorrhea. 71% of newborns (170) were born spontaneously preterm, and 29% (71) induced preterm. Factors associated with prematurity were mainly the threat of preterm delivery (36%), lack of medical follow-up of pregnancy (21%), gravidic hypertension in 18.67%, and gestational diabetes in 5.80% of cases.

Conclusion: This study determined the frequency of premature delivery and identified certain risk factors, some of which are already targeted by the national perinatal program. The results of our study are intended to sound the alarm about the need to implement a management plan to improve the monitoring and management of premature pregnancies and births at all levels of care.