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The Association of Primiparous and Breathing Difficulties of the New Born in Southern Ethiopia: A Case Control Study

Getnet Melaku*, Getachew Mergia

Background: Worldwide, primiparous is the common cause of breathing difficulty of newborns which leads numerous complications of neonatal health. In Ethiopia, the association of primiparous and breathing difficulty is not well studied. Therefore, proving that primiparous is the cause of breathing difficulty and provision of great attention for first pregnancy in Ethiopia has great role to reduce neonatal mortality.

Methods: Institution based unmatched case control study was employed. All newborns delivered at the selected Gedeo Zone Public Hospitals, southern Ethiopia during the study period were included in the study. A total of 354 (119 cases and 235 controls) neonates with their index mother were included in the study. Newborns with unable to cry immediately after delivery were diagnosed as cases. Any delivery with congenital anomaly were excluded from the study and systematic random sampling method was employed. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression model to identify factors associated with the outcome variable and result was presented using the AOR with the corresponding 95% CI.

Results: A total of 119 neonates who are unable to cry (cases) with their mothers/care takers and 235 newborns who cry (controls) with their index mothers were included. Primiparous (AOR=2.051, 95%CI: 1.129, 3.727) is the commonest cause for breathing difficulties of the newborn. Additional predictors for breathing difficulty during child birth were: No amniotic fluid status checkup during time of pregnancy, C/S mode of delivery, prolonged labor, prolonged rupture of membrane and meconium stained amniotic fluid (MSAF).

Conclusions and Recommendations: Breathing difficulty is a serious problem in Ethiopia which leads neonatal morbidity and mortality. Since, primiparous is the major predictor due to the fact that prim-parous individuals are often unaware of the demands of pregnancy and often lack routine antenatal care, great emphasis has to be given for women with first pregnancy during antenatal and intra natal periods. Therefore, attention should be given in the provision of antenatal risk assessment and intra-natal skillful birth attendance.