Abstract

Pattern of Obstetric Emergencies and Its Contribution to Adverse Pregnancy Outcome in a Tertiary Hospital North Central Nigeria: A Two Year Review

Background: Successful pregnancy outcome is usually a thrilling experience for the mother and her family. Though a physiological process it is often fraught with complications that can impact negatively on pregnancy outcome with resultant high maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Methodology: The study was to assess common pregnancy complications seen at our obstetric emergency unit. Electronic medical records of all the women seen and managed in the obstetric emergency unit at Federal Medical Centre Keffi between 1st January 2018 and 31st December 2019 were searched. The socio-demographic profile, booking status, type of emergency, mode of delivery, and pregnancy outcome were extracted and analyzed. Results: A total of 278 cases of obstetrics emergencies out of 2414 deliveries were recorded. The majority of the women were un-booked (56.3%), the age ranged from (15-44) years. The leading causes of obstetric emergencies are hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, prolonged rupture of fetal membrane, intrauterine fetal deaths, Ante-partum hemorrhage, and two or more previous cesarean section in labor. Obstetric emergencies accounted for 66.7% of maternal mortality with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, obstructed labor, and obstetric hemorrhage as the leading causes. The perinatal mortality was 30 per1000 live births. It is significantly higher among women without antenatal care services. Conclusion: Obstetric emergencies continue to pose a significant challenge to safe motherhood in our environment partly due to poor utilization of antenatal care services as many of the causes of maternal mortality are preventable requiring no high-tech equipment or training.

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