Study Of Some Maternal Risk Factors Influencing Early Neonatal Mortality

Research question: What is the extent of early neonatal mortality (0-7 days) amongst neonates delivered in a city hospital and its association with maternal factors. Objectives: 1. To find out the extent of early neonatal mortality amongst the neonates delivered in a city hospital of Calcutta. 2. To identify the maternal and biosocial factors influencing the early neonatal mortality. Setting :Obstetric and nursery wards of Eden Hospital of Medical college, Calcutta. Study design: Case-control study. Sample Size: 139 â€case†mothers whose neonates died within 7 days of delivery and 215 â€control†mothers who delivered well neonates on the same dates as those of case group. Study Variables: Maternal age, parity, literacy, place of residence, utilization of antenatal care, toxaemia of pregnancy, ante-partumhaemorrhage etc. Statistical analysis: Odds ratio and Chi-square test. Results: Overall early neonatal mortality rate was 55.33 per 1000 live births. Although there was no association of early neonatal mortality with parity and maternal age, but it was found to be significantly higher among illiterate mothers (odds ratio 3.9), those living in rural and slum areas (odds ratio 3 and 2.8) and those who did not receive complete antenatal care(odds ratio 28), The risk of early neonatal mortality was significantly high particularly in presence of two complications during pregnancy e.g. toxaemia (odds ratios 7.48) and antepartum haemorrhage (odds ratio 8.16). Conclusion: Increasing literacy status of mothers will improve their receptivity for antenatal care, which by way of ensuring proper management of pregnancy and its complications will prevent early neonatal deaths to a significant extent.