Spectrum of Neonatal Birth in juries: a Prospective Cohort Study

The birth injuries are avoidable and unavoidable mechanical or anoxic trauma incurred by the infant at birth and this study aims to know the birth injuries in neonates attended Neonatal OPD / admitted in NICU of Government General Hospital, Kurnool. This study is a hospital based prospective cohort study conducted from March 2013 to February 2014. The babies were examined for birth injuries, relevant obstetric history regarding maternal age, number of previous pregnancies, parity of mother, mode of delivery, difficult labour like malpresentations, malposition, history of any instrumentations used like forceps or vacuum , caesarean sections, Gestational age and birth weight of the baby were noted. A total of 900 babies were observed and among them 99 babies were having birth injuries and 861 were normal vertex presentation 39 deliveries were abnormal presentation. Among 861 normal deliveries,85 deliveries (9.87%) of babies had birth injuries, whereas among 39 abnormal presentations, 14 deliveries (35.89%) babies had birth injuries. Birth asphyxia was the common injury and babies were born to mothers between 21-25 years of age. It is also observed that the babies with birth injuries have a birth weight between 2-3 Kgs. So we conclude that to bring down the incidence of birth injuries which is a malady in the life of the growing child resulting in both physical and mental handicap there should be proper antenatal check-up, good obstetric care and management of birth asphyxia.