Timing of elective term deliveries and its association with adverse neonatal outcomes

Background: Pre and early term birth are one of the major causes of neonatal mortality and morbidity as compared to term infants. The risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality decreases with gestational age. Thus, this study aimed to determine the association of neonatal outcomes among early term and full-term elective deliveries. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at the department of obstetrics and gynecology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Pakistan. A total of 390 women, 195 in each study group were selected using a non-probability consecutive sampling. Demographic was presented as simple descriptive statistics giving mean and standard-deviation. Pearson’s chi-square and Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test were used to compare qualitative data. Risk-ratios (RR) and confidence-intervals (CI) were calculated by using binary logistic regression. STATA V.17 SE software was used for data analysis. Results: A total of 390 participants were recruited, including 195 patients in each group. The high prevalence of low Apgar score 5.6%, low birth weight 5.6% was found among early term when compared with full term. The respiratory distress was also reportedly high in early term neonates with 7.2%. Likewise, the prolonged hospital stays and NICU admissions were also more evident in early term elective deliveries i.e. 8.7% and 5.6%. Conclusions: Early-term births are associated with adverse neonatal outcome of low APGAR score, low birth weight, hospital stay, NICU admission and respiratory distress when compared with neonates born as full term through elective deliveries. Similarly, the risk of prolonged hospital stay a