PRETERM BIRTH - INCIDENCE AND ROLE OF THE NURSE IN THE CARE OF PREMATURE CHILDREN
Keywords:
premature birth, prematurity, newbornAbstract
Premature birth is defined as any birth that occurs after 24 weeks of gestation and before the completion of 37 weeks of gestation, based on calculations based on the first day of the menstrual cycle, regardless of the birth weight of the fetus itself. According to the World Health Organization, 9.6%, that is, about 13 million births out of the total number of births worldwide are premature.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine premature births from the total number of births in the PHI "University Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics" - Skopje, divided by gender, in a period of three past years.
Materials and methods: For the preparation of this paper, data on patients with prematurity were used from the University Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics - Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, in the period from 2021 to 2023 were used for the preparation of this paper. The obtained data are systematized and presented with tables and graphs.
Results: During the year 2021, out of the total number of births, which was 4009, 535 were premature births (13.34%). Regarding the total number of premature births, the number of prematurely born male children is 294, while the number of prematurely born female children is 241. During the year 2022, premature births were determined 309 (7.32%) of the total number of births which was 4218. In terms of gender, the number of prematurely born male children was 178, while the number of prematurely born female children was 145. During the year 2023, premature births were determined 472 (11.86%) of the total number of births which was 3977. The data indicate that in relation to the total number of premature births, the number of prematurely born male children was 262, while the number of prematurely born female children was 210.
Conclusion: Premature delivery is still a predominant cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, especially those occurring between fetal viability and the 32nd gestational week. Adequate antepartum prevention, intensive surveillance during labor, adequate completion of labor, nursing care, dedication to pediatricians at birth, and selective referral of premature infants to referral centers result in significant reductions in preterm births and perinatal morbidity and mortality.
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