Clinico-socio demographic characteristics of neonates at NICU, Mediciti Hospital, Medchal, Telangana, India

Background: Children face the greatest risk of disease and death in their first 28 days. Improvements in basic neonatal care such as thermoregulation and breastfeeding have substantially reduced neonatal mortality and morbidity. There is still a need to strengthen the provision of advanced care for neonates. Identifying factors impacting neonatal mortality and morbidity and addressing them through a package of evidence-based interventions are essential to avoiding preventable deaths. Methods: The current study analyses data from a cross-sectional study in the rural outreach area of a tertiary hospital in Hyderabad, India to assess clinical and socio-demographic factors affecting neonatal morbidity. One hundred and fifty neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care unit and their mothers were included. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain responses through face-to-face interview. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using R Statistical Software (version 4.3.2). Results: Among the 150 neonates, 99 (66%) neonates were admitted for respiratory distress. 39 (26%) males were low birth weight and 28 (18.67%) females were low birth weight. There was no significant association between low birth weight, high risk pregnancy and gender of the neonate. A significant association was obtained between low socio-economic status and low birth weight. Conclusions: Neonatal mortality and morbidity can be attributed to several factors including neonatal characteristics, maternal characteristics, health infrastructure and health manpower. However, prevalence of socio-demographic risk factors affecting neonates is disproportionately higher in low- and middle-income countries. A multi-pronged approach is required to address the multimodal causation of low birth weight and morbidity in neonates.