Maternal Risk Factors for Neonatal Mortality in Iran: A case-control study

Background:Neonatal death is defined as death at any point in time during the first four weeks of life and is one of the most important criteria used to evaluate the effectiveness interventions at public area. We aimed in this comprehensive national study on mothers referred to health care centers, to investigate pre-pregnancy risk factors associated with neonatal death. Material and Method:This cross-sectional study was done on 2788 patient in 2012-2016. Participates were divided into two cases (1162) and control (1626) groups. We evaluate the association factor between neonatal death, the dependent variable, and mother’s demographic and health status characteristics. Data collection was a multi-stage sampling method. Expert staff interviewed parents to collect data based on the same protocol for case and control groups. Data collects and analyses were performed using the chi-square test and multivariate regression analyses by SPSS 16.Result:This study was conducted on 2788 participant’s that 90% of cases and 94% of controls were under 35 years of age. Chance of neonatal death was higher in, Kurdish mothers[OR: 2.02; 95% CI (1.1 – 4.16)], mothers with low level illiterate [OR: 1.82; 95% CI (1.01 – 3.27)], mothers with history of stillbirth [OR: 8.84; 95% CI (5.88 – 13.29)], using contraceptives [OR: 1.66; 95% CI (1.33- 2.06)]and passive smokers [OR: 1.49; 95% CI (1.20 – 1.86)].Conclusions:We conclude some of the risk factors and observed significant results for mother's level of education, mother's BMI, ethnicity, using contraceptives, pregnancy intervals, history of stillbirth and abortion and passive smoking is associated to neonatal death.