Prevalence and Risk Factors of Spontaneous Preterm Birth

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of spontaneous Preterm Birth (PTB) at Mansoura University Hospitals, Egypt.Methods: A questionnaire based case control study included 651 cases delivered at 24-37 weeks and another group of full term deliveries as controls (n=686). During 9 months study period, among 10452 live births, 651 (6.2%) were registered as spontaneous preterm birth at mean (SD) of 31.6 (2.2) gestational weeks.Results: After inclusion in the final analyses, women who had history of miscarriage, preterm birth, caesarean delivery, and short inter pregnancy interval or having both low and high Body Mass Indexes (BMI) were at higher risk for PTB. Also the risk is found higher in those with history of periodontal infection or dental manoeuvres, vaginal bleeding, genital or urinary tract infection in the index pregnancy.Conclusion: Spontaneous preterm birth predominates in our setting with a tendency to recur. More research is needed targeting the high risk group for implementing proper clinical services and aiding in prevention of this problem.