Publication:

Study of iatrogenic preterm delivery in a tertiary center: a prospective observational study

Background Iatrogenic preterm delivery, also known as provider-initiated preterm birth, involves planned delivery before 37 weeks of gestation.

Methods A prospective observational study was conducted after getting clearance from the Institutional ethics committee the study was undertaken from December 2022 to June 2024. Data will be analysed using the SPSS 26.0 software (IBM, ARMONK, NY).

Results In the study 68% patients were primigravida .72.45% patient were between 32-37 weeks of gestation. The risk of preterm births was higher among mothers with education lower than primary level in our studies. In our study 65% women belonged to lower socio-economic group. In this study, major risk factors included hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (37 cases), PPROM (37 cases), antepartum haemorrhage (16 cases). The most common indication for induction was PPROM and that for LSCS was failure of induction and PPROM with previous scarred uterus. The caesarean section rate in our study was around 81% which included cases of failed induction of labour (20%) and only 19% delivered vaginally following induction of labour. 37.7% delivered babies weighed between 1.5-–2 kg followed by 2-2.5 kg (23.6%) and 1-1.5 kg (21.7%). Most common maternal postnatal complication were anaemia (54.2%) followed by fever (16.7%) and breast engorgement (11.5%) whereas most common neonatal complications were hypoxia (15%), followed by neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (14%) and hypoglycaemia (8%).

Conclusions For iatrogenic preterm birth, prevention may be targeted towards modifiable factors. Research into complications of pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia and diabetes must focus on identifying pregnancies for which it is possible to delay birth while ensuring optimal maternal and neonatal outcomes.