Risk factors for preterm birth in healthy women of Brunei Darussalam: a retrospective case-control study.

Nabila SERUDIN ¹, Roselina YAAKUB ², Oduola ABIOLA ¹

¹ Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam and ² Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, RIPAS Hospital, Brunei Darussalam

ABSTRACT

Introduction: There has been an increase in the number of preterm births globally in recent years. The major consequences of preterm birth are neonatal mortality and morbidity. This study aims to identify maternal risk factors of preterm birth among healthy pregnant women of Brunei Darussalam. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study involving a total of 260 singleton pregnancies (130 cases and 130 controls) delivered at the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital, a tertiary referral centre in Brunei Darussalam. They consisted of age matched healthy pregnant and control women with no history of medical illness before or during pregnancy. The following information was then obtained from patient medical records: Body Mass Index (BMI), parity, history of preterm birth, ethnicity, secondary smoking exposure, employment status of both mother and father. Results: The study population consisted of obese and none obese singleton mothers with an average age of 23 years and were mainly of Malay ethnicity. The following risk factors for preterm birth were identified: parity of five and above (p = 0.035) and previous history of preterm birth (p = 0.030). Interestingly there was no significant association between preterm birth and previously reported modifiable risk factors such as obesity (p = 0.396), ethnicity (p = 1.000), employment status of mother (p = 0.435), employment status of father (p = 0.868) and secondary exposure to smoking (p = 0.636). Conclusion: The risk factors identified in this study for preterm birth in healthy pregnant women in Brunei Darussalam are parity of five and above and a history of preterm birth. Further studies involving larger sample sizes are needed to confirm the present findings.

Keywords: Preterm birth, risk factors, healthy women, Brunei Darussalam

Correspondence author: Oduola ABIOLA, PAP Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, BE Brunei Darussalam. Tel: +673 2463001 Ext 2245 (office) and +673 8193134 (Mobile). E mail: oduola.abiola@ubd.edu.bn

Brunei Int Med J. 2014; 10 (1): 25-33