Abstract
Background: The final goal of antenatal care is safe delivery of a healthy baby to a healthy mother. Achieving livebirths with high Apgar scores is a desired expectation, as stillbirths constitute wastage of pregnancy and an index of poor obstetric care.
Objective: To determine the obstetric outcome in a cross-section of booked and unbooked parturients in our centre.
Methodology: Labour ward records of women who delivered in our facility within the months of August, September and October 2017 were analysed. Data included age, booking status, mode of delivery, fetal weight and Apgar scores. Primary data were inputted into EpiInfo version 7.2.3.1 for analysis while secondary data was analysed using select-statistics.co.uk calculator and GraphPad t-test calculator.
Results: There were 667 deliveries during the 3-month review. Six hundred (90.0%) were booked while 67 (10.0%) were unbooked maternities. Older women were more likely booked OR 1.13 (1.07, 1.19). Livebirths were 96.7% in booked parturients and 59.7% in the unbooked. Stillbirths, low Apgar scores, preterm births as well as PPH were significantly commoner in the unbooked parturients. There were two maternal deaths during the study period with a maternal mortality ratio of 300 per 100,000 livebirths.
Conclusion: The livebirth rates and five-minute Apgar scores of 7-10 were better in babies of booked parturients in contrast to unbooked parturients with a livebirth rate of 59.7% and 49.2% babies having Apgar scores of 7-10 in five minutes. Our results add to existing evidence advocating antenatal care and skilled delivery for pregnant women.