Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr 25;62(2):79-84.
eCollection 2021 Mar-Apr.

Review of Medically Indicated Preterm Births Due to Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy at a Tertiary Hospital in Abuja: Maternal Characteristics and Neonatal Outcome

Azuka C Ezeike  1 , Korede W Durojaiye  1 , Chris O Agboghoroma  1
Affiliations

Review of Medically Indicated Preterm Births Due to Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy at a Tertiary Hospital in Abuja: Maternal Characteristics and Neonatal Outcome

Azuka C Ezeike et al. Niger Med J. .

Abstract

Background: Preterm birth is the delivery of a baby before 37 weeks of gestation. Hypertension in pregnancy has been found to be the most common cause of medically indicated preterm birth leading to significant neonatal mortality and morbidity.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of medically indicated preterm births due to hypertension in pregnancy, the pattern of maternal characteristics and the immediate neonatal outcome. Study Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study of all medically indicated preterm births due to hypertensive disorders in pregnancy at National Hospital Abuja from 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2012.

Results: The total number of births over the five-year period was 9055 with preterm births contributing 1075(11.9%), 523(48.7%) were spontaneous while 552(51.3%) were medically indicated. Hypertension in pregnancy was the indication for 254(23.6%) of the overall preterm births and 46% of medically indicated preterm births. Preeclampsia was the diagnosis in 77.1% of the cases of hypertensive disorders, 33.5% deliveries were between 34-36 weeks gestational age and the mean birth weight was 1.82kg.

Conclusion: Hypertensive disorder was a major contributor to medically indicated preterm birth in this study with Preeclampsia as the predominant form. Proper preconception and antenatal care with institution of preventive measures for preeclampsia will help prolong gestation in at risk mothers to ensure better survival for neonates.

Keywords: Hypertension in Pregnancy; Medically Indicated; Preterm Birth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Bar Chart Showing the Parity of the mothers.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Bar Chart showing the Apgar Scores at 5 Minutes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Blencove H, Cousens S, Chou D, Osteogard M, Say L, Moller AB et al. Born too soon: The Global epidemiology of 15 million preterm Births. Reproductive health. 2013;10: S2. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Golenberg RL, Culhane JF, Lams JD, Romero R. Epidemiology and causes of preterm birth. Lancet. 2008; 371:75-84 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lucovnik M, Bregar AT, Steblovnik L, Verdenik I, Gersak K, Blickstein I, Tul N. Changes in incidence of iatrogenic and spontaneous preterm births over time: a population-based study. J Perinat Med. 2016. Jul 1; 44:505-9. - PubMed
    1. Dutta DC. Preterm labour, preterm premature rupture of membranes, post maturity, intrauterine foetal death. In Hiral K. Textbook of Gynaecology. 7th ed. Kolkata: New central Book Agency; 2004. 314-326
    1. Ramsay JE. Prematurity. In Magowan BA, Owen P, Drife J, editors. Clinical Obstetrics and gynaecology, 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Elsevier; 2009.299-304

LinkOut - more resources