Abstract

Objective: To determine the effect of interpregnancy interval (IPI) on adverse and perinatal outcomes among Namibian women who delivered at Katutura regional referral Hospital from January 2005 to December 2015.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study conducted at Katutura regional referral hospital Windhoek in Namibia. A total of 3219 women who had two consecutive singleton deliveries from 2005 - 2015 were studied. The outcome of interest were maternal outcomes (preeclampsia, anemia and maternal death) and perinatal outcomes (preterm birth, low birth weight, neonatal intensive care unit and perinatal death).

Data were analyzed using STATA version 15. A log-binomial regression model was used to estimate the relative risk for adverse outcomes with their respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A robust variance estimator was used to take into account for repeated observations/births from the same mother.

Results: Nearly half (52.9%) of the women had optimal interpregnancy interval (24 - 59 months). Women who conceived within a short IPI had increased risk of preeclampsia in their next pregnancy (ARR 2.70.95% CI 1.55 - 4.71). Both short and long IPI were associated with an increased risk of anemia (ARR 2.76; 95% 1.59 - 3.94) and (ARR 2.51; 95% 1.38 - 4.57) respectively. Short IPI was associated with 3% maternal death. Short IPI was associated with increased risk of preterm birth (ARR1.67; 95% 1.36 - 2.06) and low birth weight (ARR1.34; 95% 1.03 - 1.74), respectively.

Conclusion: We confirm that both short and long IPI were associated with adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Our finding suggest a need for a targeted intervention such as modern contraceptive use to promote optimal IPI.

Keywords: Interpregnancy Interval; Adverse Maternal Outcomes; Adverse Perinatal Outcomes; Namibia

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Citation

Citation: Michael Johnson Mahande., et al. “Effect of Interpregnancy Interval on Adverse Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes at Katutura Regional Referral Hospital in Namibia: A Retrospective Cohort Study, 2005 to 2015". Acta Scientific Women's Health 2.12 (2020): 02-09.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Michael Johnson Mahande., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.