Background: Preterm birth contributes significantly
to neonatal deaths. Its burden should be defined to
enhance interventions especially in resource-limited
settings with poor neonatal health indices.
Objectives: To determine the incidence of preterm
delivery in the Mother and Child Hospital, Akure, to
investigate the outcome and explore the relationship
between birth weight and neonatal survival.
Method: Demographic and clinical features
(gestational age, birth weight and outcome) of
consecutive preterm infants were documented for one
and a half years. Incidence of preterm birth was
computed, using total birth as the denominator.
Quarterly incidence of preterm birth was presented
graphically. Univariate logistic regression analysis of
birth weight as a predictor of preterm death was
done. P value <0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Of 10,432 births during study period, 1,606
were preterm giving an incidence of preterm births of
15.4%. Among preterm infants, 1,449 (90.2%) had
low birth weight (LBW), 123 (7.7%) very low birth
weight (VLBW) and 34 (2.1%) extremely low birth
weight (ELBW). Most (92.8%) preterm babies were
discharged. Prematurity had a case fatality rate (CFR)
of 5.6%. Compared to normal birth weight infants,
ELBW babies were 250 times and VLBW infants
47.6 times more likely to die.