Emergency Obstetric Complications During Labour And Delivery Among Mothers Attending Maternity Teaching Hospital /Erbil City/ Iraq. A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Every year, over half a million women continue to lose their lives during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. Although, pregnancy and childbirth are a normal process Pregnancy can sometimes present life-threatening health problems for a mother and her baby. These problems are called obstetric emergencies. An obstetric emergency may arise at any time during pregnancy, labor and birth. This study aimed to determine the emergency obstetric complications which occurred during labor and delivery, and evaluate their associations with socio-demographic, obstetrical characteristics and fetal complications. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 women who attended the delivery room of Maternity Teaching Hospital. The tool that used was an examiners-made questionnaire, containing 3 parts: demographic characteristics, obstetrical history, and emergency obstetrical complications which occurred during labor and delivery. The data were analyzed through frequency, percentage and Chi-Square test using the SPSS statistical program.                                                                                                                                                                                                            Results: Mean age of respondents was 30.15 years. We have found that the 39% of cases developed complication. Among the complications, most common problems:  high blood pressure, postdated delivery, bleeding before delivery, difficult labor, premature rupture of membranes and prolonged labor respectively. Conclusions:  The burden of emergency obstetric complications during labor and delivery is high. Efforts should be made at both the community and hospital levels to increase awareness regarding emergency obstetrical problems and reduce its associated morbidity and mortality.