European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Introduction: Preterm birth is defined as babies born alive before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. Preterm birth (PTB) is associated with short- and long-term adverse outcomes for the neonate. In addition, it is the leading cause of neonatal death and also a contributor to the under-five mortality rate. Aims: To study the perinatal outcome in terms of morbidity and mortality among early, intermediate and late preterm birth, in AGMC & GBPH. Materials and methods: The present study was a hospital based observational study with a cross sectional design. This Study was conducted for one and half years between January 2020 and June 2021 at department of Obstetrics & gynecology at AGMC & GBP Hospital during the study period. Total 216 patients were included in this study. Result: The association between lengths of maternal post-partum hospitalization with gestational age of the infants. It can be inferred that the mothers who gave birth to early preterm infants had a significantly higher proportion of post-partum hospitalization of 7 days or more the relation between interventions for neonatal jaundice and gestational age of the infants. The proportion of exchange transfusion was significantly more in the early preterm births in comparison, among the late preterm births, majority needed no treatment for neonatal jaundice. Conclusion: Preterm birth remains a significant risk factor for excess neonatal morbidity, hospitalization, and morbidity and associated costs, in addition to the psychological distress to the families. It is evident from this study that complications in both mothers and infants tend to increase with increasing prematurity associated with lower weeks of gestation. Developing a deeper understanding of the factors significantly associated with preterm birth especially identifying those factors that are modifiable, could help develop new approaches to antenatal, intranasal and post-natal care to prevent adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. This study is the first of its kind in North East India that looks extensively into these predictors and helps identify areas of intervention for lower neonatal and pregnancy related adverse outcomes.