ABSTRACT
Objective: The association between various factors and the occurrence of spontaneous abortion among women in the reproductive age group attending GMCH, Ajman, UAE was determined in this study
Materials and Methods: It was a case-control study conducted among women admitted to the OBG department of GMCH, Ajman, UAE. The cases were 60 women hospitalized for spontaneous abortion and controls were 180 women who had normal delivery. The subjects were interviewed after obtaining consent from them. Their age, parity, gestational age, nationality, occupation, level of education, history of previous abortion, previous gestational diabetes, congenital anomalies, hypertension during or after pregnancy, history of spontaneous abortion and the factors associated with spontaneous abortion were collected. Data were analyzed using SPSS-21. Chi-square was used to test the association between various factors and spontaneous abortion. Logistic regression was used to assess the degree of association. Statistical significance was set at p
Results: A total of 60 cases and 180 controls participated in the study. Most of the women among cases [61.7%] and controls [52.2%] were between 21 and 30 years of age. Majority of the cases [53.3%] were from Eastern Mediterranean region as compared to controls [49.4%]. No significant association was observed between socio-demographic characteristics and spontaneous abortion. A significant association was observed between regular exercise especially walking at moderate pace and spontaneous abortion. Type of diet, sleep pattern, and tobacco use had no significant association with spontaneous abortion. Walking at moderate pace was a protective factor against spontaneous abortion [AOR =0.22] with confidence interval of 0.11-0.41. Women who walk regularly during pregnancy are 78% less likely to have a spontaneous abortion than those who do not. Soft drinks consumption had a protective effect [AOR=0.32] with 95% confidence interval of 0.12-0.87. Women who consume soft drinks during pregnancy are 68% less likely to have spontaneous abortion than those who don't
Conclusion: This study concluded that there was no association between spontaneous abortion and any of the socio-demographic characteristics, reproductive health history, sleep pattern, and dietary habits. Walking at moderate space and consuming soft drinks showed an association with spontaneous abortion and was found to be protective. From the observations made, the authors recommend to conduct a nationwide research for more generalizable results