Factors Associated with Adverse Birth Outcomes among Neonates in Kajiado County Referral Hospital, Kenya

Abstract

Adverse birth outcomes are unexpected results in a baby at birth. Even with the medical advancement in the recent times, adverse birth outcomes are still a problem across the globe and are associated with high mortality among the affected infants. Studies on these adverse birth outcomes and the associated factors are therefore needed. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with adverse birth outcomes among neonates in Kajiado County Referral Hospital. A Cross sectional study was carried out among mother- neonate pair admitted at the Kajiado County Referral Hospital postnatal ward. A total of 163 study participants were recruited through systematic sampling. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. Logistic regression was used to determine the significance of association between each outcome variable and the independent variables. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI were used to estimate the strength of association. The threshold for significance was set at P<0.05 at all levels of analyses. The overall prevalence of adverse birth outcomes was 32.5%. The prevalence of Low Birth Weight was 23.1%, preterm births was 23.1%, while stillbirth prevalence was 6.5%. The main socio demographic and socio economic factors associated with adverse birth outcome were; being single, [OR= 2.769; 95%CI = 1.06 – 7.17, P = 0.037] and residing in rural areas, [OR =3.18; 95%CI= 1.25 – 6.92, P=0.021]. Antenatal clinic visits were significantly associated with adverse birth outcomes,[OR=4.25; 95% CI= 1.91 – 10.38, P<0.001], the lesser the visits the higher the odds for adverse birth outcomes. Multiple births were significantly associated adverse birth outcome, [OR=10.44; 95% CI = 3.49 – 22.16, P = 0.001]. Previous history of low birth weight, [OR=2.82; 95%CI= 1.07 – 5.99, P=0.034] and previous history of preterm birth, [OR=2.14; 95% CI= 1.25 – 5.14, P=0.004] were significantly associated with recurrence of the same in the current neonate. In conclusion, the prevalence of adverse birth outcomes in Kajiado County Hospital Referral Hospital was found to be higher than prevalence in the country as per KDHS 2014. The factors that were found to be significantly associated with adverse birth outcomes were also significantly associated with ABO in other similar studies conducted elsewhere. The study recommended the following; prevention of teenage pregnancies, improving healthcare provision and access in rural areas, health education to all pregnant women on importance of the minimum four antenatal clinic visits.