Abstract
Preterm neonatal mortality contributes significantly to the high incidence of death among children under five years of age. Neonatal mortality also serves as an indicator of maternal health in society. The aim of the study is to examine the risk factors for preterm neonatal mortality at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Mount Hope Women’s Hospital in Trinidad and Tobago (MHWH). In this retrospective study, we included infants (N = 129), born < 37 weeks gestational age, between 1 January and 31 December 2015. Two binary logistic regression models (infant and maternal variables) were constructed to identify predictors of preterm neonatal mortality. Roughly 12% of the infants died after being admitted to the NICU. The binary logistic regression (infant model) had an excellent fit (area under the curve (AUC): 0.904, misclassification rate: 11.7%) whilst the maternal binary logistic model had a fair fit (AUC: 0.698). Birth weight, length of time on the ventilator and obstetric complications proved to significantly influence the odds of preterm neonatal death. The estimated models show that improvement in neonatal as well as maternal variables has direct impact on preterm neonatal mortality.
Highlights
Preterm birth is a significant factor in mortality among children who are under five years, as well as the leading cause of neonatal mortality due to the complications associated with preterm births [1].Preterm birth has a pivotal role in the mortality and morbidity among newborns
This global trend is seen in Trinidad and Tobago, as in 2008, the UNICEF outlined that among the under-five year olds, 69% of the deaths was attributed to neonatal mortality, of which prematurity was responsible for 31% of the neonatal deaths [3]
This study examined the neonates delivered at gestational age less than 37 weeks and admitted to Mount Hope Women’s Hospital in Trinidad and Tobago (MHWH) neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for the period 1 January–31 December 2015
Summary
Preterm birth is a significant factor in mortality among children who are under five years, as well as the leading cause of neonatal mortality due to the complications associated with preterm births [1].Preterm birth has a pivotal role in the mortality and morbidity among newborns. Bank reported that 85% of the neonatal mortality occurring around the globe is contributed by preterm birth [2]. There is significant morbidity among some survivors including weakening neurodevelopment capacities, learning impedance, visual disorders and secondary effects in long term health [5,6,7]. These morbidities have substantial consequences to the families, society and the health system [8]
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