The World Health Organization estimates the prevalence of preterm birth to be 5–18% across 184 countries of the world. Statistics from countries with reliable data show that preterm birth is on the rise. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at all four post-natal wards of De Soysa Hospital for Women (DSHW) Colombo in April to December 2018. A total of 516 mothers who met the eligibility criteria were enrolled into the study. Maternal age, parity, period of gestation, maternal BMI, type of the preterm delivery (spontaneous or iatrogenic), evidence of preterm premature rupture of membrane, gender of the newborn and the birth weight of the baby was recorded in data extraction sheet from the bed head ticket (BHT). From total sample, 292(56.6%) mothers were between the ages of 18 - 29 and 20(3.9%) >40 years, primiparous (n=196, 38%), near term pregnancies (34 to 36+6 weeks) (n=333, 64.5%), and 115(22.3%) were preterm pregnancies (31 to 33+6 weeks). 242(47%) mothers with BMI 18.5-24.9. Maternal age, BMI, parity, and fetal gender were significantly associated with preterm birth (p = < 0.05). Association between the period of gestation and the maternal age, parity, and birth weight of the newborn were significant (p = < 0.05). Significant association of maternal age, BMI of the mother, parity of the mother, and gender of the fetus, with the preterm deliveries. From those parity and the BMI of the mother are the most significantly associated factors with the preterm deliveries. At-risk mothers should receive intensified antenatal care to mitigate preterm birth. Furthermore, modifiable factors such as BMI & age of conception can optimize or manipulate as a risk reduction strategy..
2023-07-01.
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