Lifestyle and risk factors associated with threatened miscarriage in elsaudi maternity hospital, Khartoum, Sudan (2018)

Abstract

Background: Threatened miscarriage is a relatively common complication during pregnancy, occurring in approximately 20% of all pregnancies. Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the risk factors associated with threatened miscarriage at Elsaudi Maternity Hospital, Sudan in 2018. Materials and Methods: This is nonmatched single center, case–control study. Results: Overall, of 139 women were enrolled in our study distributed as 68 controls and 63 cases with vaginal bleeding. Risk factors for threatened miscarriage were age <20 (odds ratio [OR] 1.7), age over 40 (OR 1.4), rural residency (OR 1.3), first pregnancy (OR 1.6), unplanned pregnancy (OR 1.6), smoking (OR 2.2), mobile phone usage of more than 6 h (OR 2.4), having high stress level (OR 1.6), being a work in women (OR 1.3), having pre-existing medical condition (OR 1.5), nausea and vomiting during current pregnancy (OR 5.8), having previous miscarriage (OR 2.2), and using oral contraception (OR 1.3). Education and normal body mass index reduce the risk of having threatened miscarriage. Conclusion: Identifying risk factors for threatened miscarriage may aid in the prevention and treatment. We should raise awareness among women about the importance of prepregnancy counseling to identify pregnancies at risk.