EC Paediatrics

Background and Aim: Preterm birth is birth of a baby before 37 completed weeks. This is a major global public health problem due to high morbidity and mortality associated with it hence November 17^th each year has been declared a world prematurity day aimed at raising awareness on this important problem. This study is aimed at assessing the prevalence, problem of preterm neonates and outcome among babies admitted into the neonatal unit of Asaba Specialist Hospital, Asaba, Nigeria.

Method: This is a retrospective study of the medical records of all preterm babies admitted into the hospital from January 2024 to December 2024. A structured data collection sheet was used to collect information from the files. Information obtained included independent variables (gestational age at birth, gender, birth weight, hospital complications during admission, treatment received and duration of admission) and dependent variables (dead or discharge). Relationship between dependent and independent variables was tested using Pearson Chi-square.

Result: The result showed that 478 neonates were admitted into the neonatal unit of which 116 were preterm given a preterm prevalence of 24.2%. There were 60 (51.7%) male and 56 (48.3%) females, 56 (48.3%) were delivered via cesarean section, 25 (21.6%) received surfactant, 106 (91.4%) had respiratory support using improvised CPAP. Preterm labour 48 (41.4%) was the commonest indication for deliver, respiratory distress syndrome 86 (35.3%) was the commonest morbidity seen among the preterm. A total of 17 (14.7%) preterm died with most of the death occurring among the extreme preterm and extreme low birth weight preterm.

Conclusion: Prematurity remain a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in our hospital. Interventions aimed at reducing preterm labour and improved care of the preterm will aid in reducing the high burden of preterm death.

Keywords: Prematurity; Morbidity; Mortality; Preterm; Neonates

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