Prevalence and immediate outcomes of low birth weight neonates born of preeclamptic women at Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Pre-eclampsia has been linked to poor neonatal outcomes such as; stillbirth, low birth weight (LBW), prematurity and neonatal morbidities. Objective: To determine the prevalence of LBW and immediate (within 24 hours) birth outcomes of LBW neonates born of pre-eclamptic women at Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital, Kenya. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 364 participants (346 singletons and 18 twins). A structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to gather data on birth weight and neonatal outcomes. Data was cleaned, coded and entered into SPSS version 22 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were computed for the prevalence of LBW and immediate birth outcomes. Results: The prevalence of LBW was 180(49.45%). Notably, of the LBW neonates; 162(90%) were alive while 18(10%) were stillbirths. Immediate morbidities were; birth asphyxia 51(28.73%), neonatal jaundice 38(21%), hypothermia 18(7.90%) and neonatal sepsis 1(0.68%). Of the neonates that were alive; 107(59.18%) were admitted to level II nursery care, 53(29.53%) were rooming in with their mothers and 2(1.36%) had died. Conclusion: The prevalence of LBW and its associated mortality/morbidity among neonates born of pre-eclamptic women is alarmingly high and the nursery admissions are majorly due to birth asphyxia.