Publication:

Risky behavioral factors associated with preterm deliveries among women of childbearing age (15-49 years) at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Nairobi County, Kenya

Worldwide, pre-term delivery (PTD) or pre-term birth (PTB) is on the rise. World Health Organization (WHO) data shows an increase from 2 million in 1990 to 2.2 million in 2012 with about 60% of the preterm deliveries occurring in developing countries and 12.3% in Kenya. The study objective was to determine risky behavioral factors associated with preterm deliveries 1among women of childbearing age (15-49 years) at Pumwani Maternity Hospital (PMH).Methods:Maternity delivery register (MDR) was used to identify and recruit eligible study participants. A sampling frame constituting of serial numbers assigned to the mothers was made. Data was collected using pretested and structured questionnaire and a data abstraction tool. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used to perform statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize categorical variables. Chi-square was used to examine the differences among the categorical variables. Prevalence adjusted odds ratios (PAOR) with their respective 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to estimate the strengths of associations.Results:The study recorded proportional differences among the study variables in their association with preterm deliveries. Among them, 100%, 40%, 22.2% and 17.1% of the mothers who used firewood, charcoal, kerosene and gas/electricity respectively had preterm deliveries.Conclusions:There was no statistically significant association between the study variables (general maternal smoking, maternal smoking during pregnancy, husband smoking, husband smoking during pregnancy, main household type of fuel) and preterm delivery.