Abstract:
Introduction: Perinatal asphyxia is defined as an injury to the fetus or to the newborn caused by lack of oxygen (hypoxia) and/ or lack of perfusion to some organs (ischemia), which is enough to induce biochemical and functional consequences. Objective: To determine the prevalence and main risk factors associated with perinatal asphyxia in a group of neonates. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, quantitative and descriptive exploratory study, conducted through interviews with puerperal women who gave birth in hospitals located in a city of the Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil. 1079 individuals participated of the study where 18 cases of asphyxiated newborns were identified. The inclusion criteria were neonates born with at least 22 weeks of gestational age with Apgar score lower than 3 in the first minute or less than 7 in the fifth minute (study group) compared to the control group (Apgar equal to or greater than 8 and 10 in the first and fifth minutes, respectively). Results: Multivariate analysis revealed an association between perinatal asphyxia with the number of prenatal consultations (1.293-1.779, P = 0.030), uterine bleeding (0.021-0.934, P = 0.042) and sedation of the mother (0.009-0.203, P = 0.001). After logistic analysis, the variables that remained in the model were anemia (1.820-40.874, P = 0.031), high risk of preterm birth (2.32331.529, P = 0.009), pregnancy bleeding (1.934-25.691, P = 0.015) and hospitalization during pregnancy (1.174-8.247, P = 0.016). Conclusion: Information about the birth profile can direct the actions of perinatal care and the conduction of preventive practices toward pregnant women with the purpose of reducing the likelihood of perinatal asphyxia.
Keywords: Perinatal asphyxia. Prevalence. APGAR scoring Newborn
Authors:
Rejane Maria de Oliveira Holanda;
Ana Maria de Lima Dantas;
Ianara Mendonça da Costa;
Eudes Euler de Souza Lucena;
Lucídio Clebeson de Oliveira;
Luciana Cristina Borges Fernandes;
Eduardo Pereira de Azevedo;
Francisco Irochima Pinheiro;
Amália Cinthia Meneses do Rêgo;
Irami Araújo-Filho and Fausto Pierdoná Guzen