The Associations between Inter-Pregnancy Interval and Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Chennai

Abstract

Background: Worldwide maternal and perinatal mortality have continued to remain unchanged over the past 20 years, and strategies are being sought to decrease the same. An important determinant of the maternal and neonatal mortality is the health of the mother and the care that she receives it during the antenatal period. The maternal and neonatal outcomes are influenced by inter pregnancy interval. It has been demonstrated that interpregnancy interval plays a key role determining the health status of the mother. Aim: We conducted a study to evaluate the possible association between inter-pregnancy interval and the occurrence of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes in our hospital. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study where the obstetrical and perinatal records in a hospitals obstetrics and neonatal database between 2017 and 2018 were studied. A total of 244 records of women who delivered singleton infants at Saveetha medical college hospital, a tertiary care teaching hospital were included in the study. Gestational outcomes in mother and child according to inter-pregnancy interval were studied. Results: During the period of the study, 68.5% of records referred to women with an inter-pregnancy interval <18 months. After the adjustment performed for confounding factors and assuming an inter-pregnancy interval of 18–23 months as reference, short intervals (<6 months) were observed to be associated with a greater risk of jaundice and respiratory distress. Conclusions: Short inter-pregnancy intervals are associated with a higher risk of anaemia and abortion in mother while jaundice and respiratory distress being main association in children.