Perinatal outcome of multiple pregnancy in a tertiary maternity hospital in Sudan

Abstract

Background: The incidence of multiple pregnancies, including high-order multiple pregnancies, has
been increasing recently.
Objectives: The objectives of this research were to determine the risk factors and early neonatal outcome
of multiple pregnancy.
Methods: This was a descriptive, cross- sectional, hospital-based study, that was conducted in Omdurman
Maternity Hospital, during the period January 2015 to August 2015. Two hundred ladies with multiple
pregnancy and their respective 428 babies were included in the study. Data was collected using a specifically
designed questionnaire and data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program
version16. Frequency analysis was used to present the socio-demographic data. Chi square test was used to
study the association between the risk factors and type of multiple births.
Results: The result revealed that most of the mothers were between 21-40 years of age and more than half
had parity between 2-5; 86% of the mothers had positive family history of multiple pregnancy. The study
showed that 87.5% of the deliveries were twins, 11% were triplets and 1.5% were quadruplets. More than
two thirds of the deliveries were pre-term and 82% of the babies had low birth weight. Adverse peri-natal
outcome included: lowApgar score; neonatal sepsis; respiratory distress syndrome; and hyperbilirubinaemia.
The overall mortality rate was 150 per 1000 birth.
Conclusion: Multiple births were found to have an elevated risk of prematurity, low birth weight, and
small-for- gestational age. There is need to identify these cases early in order to provide good antenatal care
and deliver them in hospitals with facilities for neonatal intensive care.