Abstract
Background & Aim: Neonatal morbidity is known as an important problem in neonatal medicine. Since there has been a noticeable increase in rates of cesarean sections compared to normal vaginal delivery, determining the best time of delivery is of paramount importance. The aim of this study was to determine the neonatal morbidity associated with gestational age in non-emergent cesarean sections.
Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in Asali Hospital-Khorramabad from July 2011 to October 2011. In this study, 250 pregnant women who underwent non-emergent cesarean section were studied. Data was collected through direct interviews with patients and observing the infants` condition in the operation room or neonatal unit at the hospital. Data analysis was carried out using ANOVA, Kruskal–Wallis and Chi-squared test s in SPSS-PC (v.10).
Results: In this study, 14 % of caesarean sections were performed at the 37th week of gestation , 3.2% at the 38th week and 54.8% at the 39th week. 34.3% of neonatal morbidity including transient tachypnea of newborn, Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS), sepsis, hypoglycemia, seizure and hyperbilirubinemia was observed at the 37th week of gestation, 9% at the 38th week, and 0.7% at the 39th week. Respiratory morbidity was estimated 31.5 % at the 37th week , 5.1% at the 38th week, and 0.7 % at the 39th week .
Conclusion: The findings showed that elective cesarean sections at the37th week of pregnancy led to higher rates of neonatal morbidity such as respiratory morbidity compared to cesarean sections at the 38th or 39th week. However , further research with a larger sample size is recommended in order to achieve more definitive results in this respect and other research about approaches to reduce these cesarean sections is also recommended.
Received: 12 Jul 2013
Accepted: 13 Oct 2013
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