Prevalence and outcome of perinatal asphyxia: Our experience in a semi-urban setting

Abstract

Introduction: Perinatal asphyxia is a significant cause of infant morbidity and mortality globally. Although considerable achievement has been made in reducing the impact of infectious diseases, much is yet to be seen in reducing the menace of perinatal asphyxia especially in semi-urban and rural areas. Materials and Methods: Data from medical records of all cases of perinatal asphyxia admitted over the study period of 30 months were retrieved and documented for the study. Results: Total admission to the special care baby unit was 1040, with 257 reported cases of perinatal asphyxia hence a prevalence of 24.7%. There were 149 (60.3%) males and 98 (39.7%) females; male:female ratio of 1.52:1. The gestation ages at delivery of the cases ranged from 35 to 44 weeks with mean of 38.02 ± 1.95; while the weight on admission ranged between 1.16 and 4.70 kg; mean weight of 2.97 ± 0.60. One hundred and eighty (72.9%) of the mothers were unbooked. About 73.3% of the deliveries occurred in the study center; vaginal deliveries accounted for 142 (57.5%) of the cases. Labor lasted between 18 and 24 h in 129 (52.2%) of the cases; however, eclampsia was the most common illness documented in these mothers. Two hundred and sixteen (87.4%) cases were discharged without documented complication, while seven deaths (2.8%) were recorded. Conclusion: Perinatal asphyxia is still prevalent in our setting; preventive measures should be adopted to reduce the disease burden by improving accessibility to health care, and also providing and increasing the acceptance of maternal antenatal care.