Factors Leading to Newborn's Admission to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit & Their Outcome

Background: The neonatal phase, which is the first 28 days of an infant’s life, is a vulnerable period due to many reversible severe illnesses. Nearly 3.5 million babies in India are born too early, 1.7 million babies are born with birth defects, and one million new-borns are discharged each year from Special New-born Care Units. These new-borns remain at high risk of death, stunting and developmental delay. Objectives: This study was aimed to assess factors leading to admission of newborns to Neonatal Intensive care Unit, their outcome and predictors for neonatal mortality. Methods: Quantitative- retrospective survey method was adopted for the study. The data was retrieved from the records of 440 babies admitted at Shree Sardar Smarak Hospital, Bardoli from 1st February, 2022 to 31st January, 2023. Results: The majority 260(59.1%) of babies admitted were delivered by primi mothers, 406(92.3%) were term at the time of delivery, 218 (49.5%) were delivered through normal vaginal delivery & 234(53.2%) babies were male. LBW (20%) which ranged from 900 gm to 2200 gm was the most common and tachypnea (0.5%) was the least common reason for admission. Concerning to neonatal outcome, majority 426 (96.81%) babies survived and 14 (3.18%) were not able to survive. The crude odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value <0.05, showed that age of mother, parity, gestational age at the time of delivery and mode of delivery were significantly related with neonatal survival status. Conclusion: Understanding the reasons for admission to NICU and predictors for neonatal mortality is significant for planning health services, improving the quality of care and reducing neonatal mortality rate. Keywords: Factors leading, NICU admission, neonatal outcome, predictors