CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · AJP Rep 2020; 10(01): e78-e86
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1708491
Original Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Population-Based Estimation of the Preterm Birth Rate in Lilongwe, Malawi: Making Every Birth Count

1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
2   Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
3   Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
,
Peter N. Kazembe
4   Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Children's Clinical Center of Excellence, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
,
Ryan M. Pace
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
5   Department of Immunology, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
,
Judy Levison
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
,
Henry Phiri
6   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
,
Grace Chiudzu
6   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
,
Ronald Alan Harris
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
,
Rose Chirwa
4   Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Children's Clinical Center of Excellence, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
,
Mary Nyondo
4   Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Children's Clinical Center of Excellence, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
,
Ellina Marko
4   Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Children's Clinical Center of Excellence, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
,
Andrew Chigayo
4   Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Children's Clinical Center of Excellence, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
,
Debora Nanthuru
4   Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Children's Clinical Center of Excellence, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
,
Bertha Banda
4   Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Children's Clinical Center of Excellence, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
,
Nicholas Twyman
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
,
Susan M. Ramin
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
2   Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
,
Susan P. Raine
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
,
Michael A. Belfort
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
2   Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
,
Kjersti M. Aagaard
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
2   Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
› Author Affiliations
Financial Support USAID/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenges Grant: AID-OAA-G-11–00062 (K.M.A.); E.W. Al Thrasher Foundation (K.M.A.); and NIH K12 GM084897 (R.M.P.). E.W. Al Thrasher Foundation, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, (award no.: K12 GM084897) USAID/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenges Grant (grant no.: AID-OAA-G-11-00062).
Further Information

Publication History

09 October 2019

24 January 2020

Publication Date:
09 March 2020 (online)

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study was to perform a population-based estimation of the preterm birth (PTB) rate in regions surrounding Lilongwe, Malawi.

Study Design We partnered with obstetrician specialists, community health workers, local midwives, and clinicians in a 50 km region surrounding Lilongwe, Malawi, to perform a population-based estimation of the PTB rate during the study period from December 1, 2012 to May 19, 2015.

Results Of the 14,792 births captured, 19.3% of births were preterm, including preterm early neonatal deaths. Additional PTB risk factors were similarly prevalent including domestic violence, HIV, malaria, anemia, and malnutrition.

Conclusion When performing a population-based estimation of the rate of PTB, including women without antenatal care and women delivering at home, the 19.3% rate of PTB is among the highest recorded globally. This is accompanied by a high rate of risk factors and comorbid conditions.

Paper Presentation Information

Data from this paper were presented as a poster presentation at the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine's 34th Annual Meeting-The Pregnancy Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 3–8, 2014, Abstract Number 522 and the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine's 36th Annual Meeting-The Pregnancy Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, February 1 to 6, 2016, Abstract Number 403.


 
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