Abstract
Background: Statistics on birth injuries in Cameroon are scarce, despite its frequency in postnatal consultations; we sort to find its prevalence and contributing factors, the different clinical presentations and treatment methods. Methodology: This was a retrospective, descriptive study. Data on maternal characteristics, neonatal factors, the place of birth and qualification of birth attendant, age at diagnosis, clinical presentation and management were considered. Results: Among the 14,284 newborns that were consulted from January 2003 to February 2014, 263 (1.84%) had birth injuries. The average age at diagnosis was 12 days. The contributing factors were: advanced maternal age, macrosomia, vaginal and instrumental delivery. Birth attendants were mostly nurses and the health center was the place of birth for 57.4% of patients. The main clinical presentations were: obstetric brachial plexus palsy (70.6%), fracture of the clavicle (22.5%) and fracture of the humerus (4.80%). Physiotherapy and orthopedic treatment were methods used with favorable outcome. Conclusion: The frequency of birth injury is relatively high in our context. The diagnosis is late, birth attendants need to be trained and systematic examination of all newborns in delivery room encouraged.
Highlights
IntroductionThe main risk factors are fetal weight at birth, instrumental delivery, fetal presentation, parity and maternal age [6] [7] [8] [9]
Injuries to the neonate that result from mechanical forces
Birth attendants were mostly nurses and the health center was the place of birth for 57.4% of patients
Summary
The main risk factors are fetal weight at birth, instrumental delivery, fetal presentation, parity and maternal age [6] [7] [8] [9]. Statistics on birth injuries in Cameroon are scarce, despite its frequency in postnatal consultations; we sort to find its prevalence and contributing factors, the different clinical presentations and treatment methods. Neonatal factors, the place of birth and qualification of birth attendant, age at diagnosis, clinical presentation and management were considered. Results: Among the 14,284 newborns that were consulted from January 2003 to February 2014, 263 (1.84%) had birth injuries. The contributing factors were: advanced maternal age, macrosomia, vaginal and instrumental delivery. The diagnosis is late, birth attendants need to be trained and systematic examination of all newborns in delivery room encouraged
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