A descriptive study on the risk factors of preterm birth with its maternal and fetal outcomes at a tertiary care hospital

Background: India contributes to greatest number of preterm births all over the world. The global annual prevalence of preterm birth ranges from 9-12%. It is the most common indication for antenatal hospitalization and is the leading cause for under-five mortality. Aims and objectives were to study the incidence, risk factors, clinical presentation, effectiveness of timely intervention and, maternal and fetal outcomes of preterm birth.Methods: A Prospective hospital based cross-sectional study was done from February 2021 to February 2022.Results: The incidence of preterm labour in the study was 24%. Majority of cases presented with symptoms of UTI (47%), vaginal discharge (43%) and leaking per vagina (13%). Infections were the most common aetiology, 40% of cases had positive urine and vaginal swab culture. The most common neonatal complications were respiratory distress syndrome (7%) and neonatal sepsis (7%), others included seizures (2%), birth asphyxia (1%), enterocolitis (1%), hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (1%), intracranial hemorrhage (1%), meningitis (1%) and pulmonary hemorrhage (1%). 5% of neonatal deaths were noted.Conclusions: Urogenital infections were the commonest etiology for the onset of preterm labour, followed by gestational hypertensive disorders, previous history of preterm birth and anaemia in pregnancy. We conclude that in established preterm labour, aggressive management with antenatal corticosteroids, Magnesium sulphate for neuroprotection when indicated, antibiotic coverage and use of tocolytics with early in-utero transfer of mother to centres with equipped neonatal care units will improve the neonatal outcome.