[Study on related factors of premature delivery and perinatal management]

Abstract

Objective: To study the etiological factors, perinatal management of premature delivery and the outcome of the premature infants.

Methods: The medical records of normal deliveries over the past 8 years in our hospital were respectively reviewed to analyze the difference between full-term and premature delivery cases in terms of maternal age, perinatal factors and manner of delivery. The states of birthing and outcomes of premature were reviewed.

Results: Preterm premature rupture of the membranes and in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) were the major causes of premature delivery, which was also related to such factors as placenta previa and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Premature delivery with unknown causes had been decreasing over these years. The maternal age and history of previous birth did not vary significantly between the full-term and the premature groups, but the later had significantly higher rates of cesarean section, in which 67.64% of the cases had Apgar scores <or=7. The state of the neonates and manner of delivery were significantly different between the two groups. In the premature infants, the incidences of hypoxic-anoxic encephalopathy, aspiration pneumonia and neonatal mortality were significantly higher than those in the full-term infants.

Conclusions: Rigorous measures for preventing preterm premature rupture of the membranes and controlling transferred embryo numbers are crucial to prevent premature delivery. Good perinatal care and exact evaluation of the state of the parturient may also help reduce the incidence of premature delivery and improve the quality of life of the neonates.