Factors Affecting Preterm Delivery among Mothers Admitted to Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background: Premature or preterm baby is defined as the birth of an infant, born prior to 37 completed weeks of gestation. There is a high prevalence of premature births globally and around 24000 births annually in Sri Lanka. PreTerm Births (PTB) occurs due to many reasons and usually this accounts for higher mortality and long-term morbidity of infants compared to full term babies. Objectives: To determine physical factors among mothers with PTB babies born in Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital. Methodology: Fifty postnatal mothers aged between 25-45 years who gave birth to PTB were purposively recruited for this quantitative descriptive study. Data were collected using self administered questionnaires and descriptive technique was performed for data analysis. Results: Majority of participants (66%) were aged above 30 years. When considering Body Mass Index (BMI) of mothers, 82% were overweight and obese, and 6% extremely obese. About 48% of mothers conceived following assisted reproductive techniques such as Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI) 40% and In-vitro fertilization (IVF) 8%. When considering history of current pregnancy, 54% were on their first pregnancy. Seventy-four (74%) were singleton mothers and 26% were having twins. Fifty-six percent (56%) mothers had previous history of abortion. Forty-four present (44%) mothers had previous preterm birth. As a complication during pregnancy 16% had per vaginal bleeding, 2% had vaginal infections and 42% had Premature Rupture of Membrane (PROM). When considering medical diseases during pregnancy, 30% were having diabetes and 90% were having pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). Conclusions: Some factors related to preterm delivery including related factors were identified in this study. Further analysis on complications related to pregnancy is necessary in order to prevent complications related to prematurity.