Comparison Of The Incidence Of Perinatal Asphyxia Before And After The Health Improvement Program In Bentolhoda Hospital Of Bojnurd, Iran

Background: Perinatal asphyxia is a common cause of infant morbidity and mortality and long-term neurological disabilities. Due to the high costs of admission, a large proportion of births and neonatal deaths occur in non-hospital settings. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence rate of perinatal asphyxia before and after the implementation of the health improvement program.Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on all the infants with moderate and severe asphyxia during April 2013-2015. Subjects were divided into two groups of A and B (born after and before the health improvement program, respectively). Maternal and neonatal data were recorded in checklists and compared between these groups. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 17.Results: In total, 111 asphyxiated neonates were classified into two groups of A and B, and incidence rate of asphyxia was estimated at 0.54% and 1.05%, respectively. Severe asphyxia was observed in 35.7% and 28.9% of the infants in groups A and B, respectively. Moreover, mean duration of mechanical ventilation was 25 and 79 hours in groups A and B, respectively.Conclusion: According to the results of this study, implementation of the health improvement program reduced the incidence of perinatal asphyxia. In addition, number of cesarean cases due to previous C-section was observed to decrease. Therefore, it could be concluded that high-quality resuscitation efforts and restricted rules in the health improvement program lower the risk of long-term complications in asphyxiated neonates. However, no significant difference was observed in the mortality rate of the asphyxiated newborns in this study.