Abstract:
Background: Globally, 15 million newborns are delivered being prematurely every year and >1 in 10 are
premature, affecting families worldwide. Over 1 million babies die each year due to complications of
premature delivery and survivors face a lifetime of disability, including learning disabilities, visual and
hearing problems. Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality mostly in the first 4 weeks of life
and currently the second leading cause of death in children under the age of 5 after pneumonia. However,
limited data about the magnitude of premature birth and associated factors in low income countries like
Ethiopia. Up to the knowledge of principal investigator no study is done in Jigjiga Town Governmental
Hospitals.
Objectives: To assess the magnitude of preterm birth and associated factors among women who gave birth
in Jigjiga Town Governmental Hospitals.
Methods: Institutional based cross-sectional study design was used among 600 women who gave birth in
Jigjiga Town Governmental Hospitals, March 1 to April 1, 2019.Study participants were selected using
Sequential sampling technique. Data were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire Collected
data were checked and entered into Epi data version 3.1. and exported to Statistical Package for Social
Science window version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics was done by computing proportions and
frequencies. Bivariable logistic regression analyses were done to see the association between the outcome
variable and each independent variable. All variables with P<0.25 in the bivariable analyses were included
in the final model of multivariable in order to control for all possible confounders and to identify the
predictors of the outcome variable. Odds ratio along with 95% Confidence Interval were estimated to
measure the strength of the association. Level of statistical significance was declared at P-value < 0.05.
Result: The magnitude of preterm birth was 12.3%,95%CI (9.7%,14.9%). History of abortion
[AOR=5.01;95%CI:(1.86,13.45)], Hypertension disorder of pregnancy [AOR=3.32;95%CI:(1.08,10.20)],
sex [AOR=8.32;95%CI:(4.56,17.05)], low birth weight [AOR=3.80;95%CI:(1.55,9.84)] and residence
[AOR=4.48;95%CI:(1.39,14.44)] were statistical significantly associated with preterm birth.
Conclusion: In this study magnitude of preterm birth in Jigjiga Town Governmental Hospitals is low.
History of abortion, hypertension disorder of pregnancy, sex, low birth weight and residence were
significantly associated with preterm birth.
Recommendation: Enhance prompt recognition of obstetric complications particularly hypertension
disorder of pregnancy. To reduce risks of recurrent abortion health education should be emphasized to
women of reproductive age and family planning should be promoted. Screening for gestational
development during the antenatal period should be done regularly to reduce low birth weight.
