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.