ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to analyze the present conditions of hypertensive diseases in pregnancy so as to examine the differences between the urban and rural communities in the southwest region of Chonnam about prenatal care from 1996 to 2000. METHODS: We analyzed the clinical characteristics of only 251 out of 13,296 pregnant women who were hospitalized to be delivered in Department of obstetrics and gynecology in the Mokpo Catholic Hospital for the past five years from 1996 to 2000. RESULTS: The incidence of hypertensive diseases in pregnancy was 1.89% of the total deliveries: mild preeclampsia (55.4%), severe preeclampsia (38.2%), eclampsia (1.2%) and chronic hypertension (5.2%). Hypertensive diseases in pregnancy was common in the age group of 25-29 years (45.9%) and in gestational age of 37-40 weeks was 67.3%. The rate of vaginal delivery was 49.0%: spontaneous delivery (33.5%), induced labor (15.5%) but the rate of cesarean section was 51%. As a maternal complications, anemia (55.7%) and postpartum hemorrhage (11.4%) were developed and fetus and neonatal complication due to intrauterine growth restriction showed a considerably high rate of 12.2%. Seen from the interrelation between a residential district and the frequency of prenatal care, 40.6% of pregnant women were undergone an prenatal care at most one time, especially 53.4% of reside in rural area (p.05). CONCLUSION: Not only a study of the cause and early diagnosis of hypertensive diseases in pregnancy, but also prenatal care, early checkup and education with keeping in close contact with an executive agency will lead to decrease newborn infant mortality and hypertensive diseases in pregnancy.