Research Information System
7. Uluslararası Karadeniz Aile Hekimliği Kongresi, Trabzon, Turkey, 11 - 14 October 2018, pp.64-65, (Summary Text)
Objective
Preterm delivery, which is the most common cause of neonatal deaths and the second most
common cause of death in children aged <5 years, is defined as birth before 37 weeks of
pregnancy. The rate of preterm delivery worldwide ranges from 5% to 18%, and this rate has
gradually increased in recent years.
In this study, we evaluated the relationship between preterm delivery and the average Hb levels
of pregnant women who attended at least four pregnancy follow-up visits at family health centres
and in whom Hb levels were measured in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Our
objective in this study, which is the first study to evaluate the relationship between Hb levels and
preterm delivery in Turkey, was to examine the relationship between preterm delivery and
maternal anaemia.
Material and Methods
This retrospective cohort study was conducted in eight different family health centres located in
the provinces of Rize and Istanbul between 1 December 2017 and 1 March 2017. The study
included a total of 483 women; 294 of them had normal delivery and 189 had preterm delivery.
All mothers participating in the study had attended at least three pregnancy follow-up visits with
their family physician (at least one visit in each trimester) as per the pregnancy follow-up protocol set out by the Ministry of Health. Hb values of all the women participating in the study
were measured in the first and second trimesters, and the average Hb values were calculated.
Results
The mean Hb level during pregnancy was 10.89 ± 0.85 mg/dl in women who delivered preterm
babies; 68.8% (n = 130) of these women had anaemia. The mean Hb level during pregnancy was
11.66 ± 0.85 mg/dl in control women who delivered full-term babies; 76.19% (n = 224) of these
women were non-anaemic. There was a significant difference between both groups (p < 0.001).
The mean age of the mothers delivering preterm babies was 30.56 ± 5.84 years, and this was
lower than that in the control group (32,23± 5,89) (p < 0.05)
Conclusions
Anaemia during pregnancy might be related with preterm delivery and this must be corrected.
Pregnant women should undergo more stringent follow-up programmes.