Does a Short Interim between two Pregnancies Adversely Influence Maternal outcome – A Study from South Punjab

Abstract

To investigate the occurrence of adverse perinatal outcome in pregnancies with short inter pregnancy interim. Study Design: A Cross – sectional study. Setting: Obstetrics & Gynaecology Unit 1,Combined Military Hospital Multan. Study Duration: 6 months ,( 25-10-2019 to 24-04-2020) Subjects and Methods: Baseline information like age, obesity, parity and educational status was noted. The patients with short Inter pregnancy interval were recruited for perinatal outcomes. Results: Calculated mean of age of gestation of the patients was 38.45 ± 0.21 wks and 147 (61.3%) were at > 38 wks of gestation. Mean age of patients included, was 28.21 ± 4.37 years. Of the 240 study cases, 158 (65.8 %) were living in countryside and 82 (34.2 %) came from inner-city. Of these 240 study cases, 166 (69.2 %) pregnant females had no primary education even and only 74 (30.8%) ladies were literate. Mean BMI of the subjects was 24.99 ± 2.17 kg/m2 while 33 (13.8 %) pregnant females were found obese . Parity mean found to be 2.11 ± 0.78 and 184 (76.7 %) had parity up to 3. Mean of marriage period was 5.22 ± 3.67 yrs and 124 (51.7%) marriage period upto 4.9 years. Preterm birth was noted in 47 (19.6%), premature rupture of membranes was noted in 95 (39.6%) while postpartum hemorrhage was noted in 31 (12.9%). Conclusion: A brief interim (< 1.8 yrs) between two pregnancies, was found to be associated with more risks of preterm births (PTB), premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Higher frequencies of PTB, PROM and PPH have been observed in our study. Repeated unplanned pregnancies with brief interim between two pregnancies in under-developed countries particularly, lead to high maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Since lack of optimization of maternal health has untoward consequences, awareness and education of mothers in pre and post natal visits about effective contraception is an important component of safe motherhood. Keywords: Inter pregnancy interim, IPI, perinatal outcomes.