MAGNITUDE OF CONGENITAL ABNORMALITIES AT BIRTH AND ITS FACTORS AMONG NEWBORNS DELIVERED IN HIWOT FANA SPECIALIZED UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, HARAR, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background: Worldwide, there are around 8 million infants born each year with major birth defects, which accounts for 6% of all births, 7% of neonatal deaths, and 25.3 to 38.8 million disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) worldwide. Despite this information, there is regional variation in magnitude and its factors and limited studies have been done in Eastern Ethiopia including the current study area Objective: To assess the magnitude and factors associated with congenital anomalies at birth among newborn delivered in Hiwot Fana comprehensive specialized university hospital, Eastern Ethiopia from September 11, 2019-September 10, 2021. Methods: A hospital- based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 1112 randomly selected newborns delivered at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital from September 11, 2019 – September 10, 2021. Data were collected by reviewing mothers’ medical records by using structured and pre-tested checklist. Data were entered in to Epi Data version 3.1 and exported to STATA version 15.0 for data cleaning and analysis. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with congenital anomalies. The finding was presented using odds ratio along with 95% CI and the level of statistical significance will be declared at p-value of less than 0.05. Result: the overall magnitude of congenital anomalies was 3.2% (95% CI: 2.4, 4.6) i.e. 32/1000 live birth in the study period. The most common congenital anomalies were anencephaly (33.33%), meningomyelocele (16.67%), hydrocephalus with meningomyelocele (13.89%) and hydrocephalus (11.11%). Lack of ANC visit (AOR= 2.83, 95% CI: 1.35,5.89) and birth weight of the newborn less than 2500gm (AOR=3.35, 95% CI: 1.43, 7.84), had significantly associated with congenital anomalies... Conclusion: This study showed that the prevalence of congenital Anomalies among newborn is relatively high in the study area. Lack of ANC visit and birth weight less than 2500gm had significant association with the occurrence of congenital anomalies. Enhancing ANC attendance by expectant mothers as early in their pregnancy as possible and long-term surveillance and registry systems must be encouraged in order to support prevention and intervention efforts.