Abstract:

Background: Birth asphyxia determines the newborn’s future health status and viability with risk factors yet to be completely understood. It measures the status of the healthcare delivery of an organization including antenatal, intranatal, and postnatal care. Birth asphyxia can result to inability of the baby to not be able to take in enough oxygen before, during, or just after birth. Damage to brain tissues is a serious complications of low oxygen that can cause seizures and other neurological problems.

Aim: This study aimed to assess factors predisposing newborns to birth asphyxia in women who deliver at Sekou Toure regional hospital.

Methodology: Cross sectional study was conducted in September among 101 mothers delivered at Sekou Toure regional hospital and convenience sampling method was used to obtain the participants. Questionnaires on the interview was used to collect data for mothers who consented to participate in the study and any information collected by the researcher was strictly confidential and was not shared by anybody outside the study and data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16.

Results: A total of 101 mothers were included with an overall response rate of 98.5%. Among mothers who had children with birth asphyxia, most of them 49 (48.5%) were aged less than 20, had primary level of education 48 (47.5%), were prime gravida 64 (63.4%) and had antepartum hemorrhage 60 (59.4%) and among children who had birth asphyxia, most of them 56 (55.4%) had meconium stained amniotic fluid, were also pre term 57 (56.4%) and had low birth weight 46 (44.6%).

Conclusion: Birth asphyxia is one of the complications that can result to fatal outcomes in the entire life of the child. Prime gravida, preterm birth, meconium stained amniotic fluid, low maternal age and illiteracy were related to birth asphyxia.