Risk factors for mortality in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: maternal age influence

The study evaluated the influence of maternal age on the low birth weight (LBW), prematurity and deaths of newborns (NB). Was a descriptive, exploratory, retrospective and comparative study realized in Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a university hospital in Brazil, with seven hundred six NB admitted in the NICU in the period of five years.  The results showed high rate of childbirths of teenage mothers (27%). Among teenage mothers (193), 80% of their NB had low birth weight, and 84% were premature; and among adult mothers (513), 69% had low birth weight, and 77% were premature. During the study, 102 NB have died (mortality rate of 14.5%). The analysis of the relative risk (RR) of indicators – LBW (RR=1.75, CI95%=1.17-2.62, p < 0.006), prematurity (RR=1.60, CI95%=1.03-2.50, p < 0.03) – evidenced a higher probability of death for the NB from teenage mothers, with birth weight <2500 gramsor premature, than NB from adult mothers. In conclusion the outcome showed that the number of deaths during the neonatal period was not related to maternal age, but the prematurity and the low birth weight was.