Predictors of High risk pregnancy at one of the tertiary care centers of Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh: A Cross sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: A high-risk pregnancy is a condition in which the mother, fetus, or both are at risk for morbidity or mortality before or after delivery. Moreover, most maternal deaths could be prevented if women had timely approached appropriate health care during pregnancy, childbirth, and immediately afterward. Objectives: 1.To estimate the prevalence of high-risk pregnancies among antenatal women. 2. To determine the sociodemographic factors influencing high-risk pregnancy among the study population. Method: A hospital-based cross-sectional study included 858 antenatal women in tertiary health care. The sample size, calculated using the formula n=3.8pq/d2 with a 33.64%(Jadhao et al)[6] prevalence, a 10% margin of error, and 95% significance, was 780. Including 10% for non-response, the final sample was 858. Convenience sampling was used, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 23, employing the chi-square test/Fisher's Exact test to explore associations. Results: The study found a 28.6% prevalence of high-risk pregnancies. Rural women had a 2.87 times higher risk (p-value: <0.001, OR: 2.87, 95% CI: 2.118 – 3.898) compared to urban women. Similarly, women in joint families had a 3.58 times higher risk (P-value: <0.001, OR: 3.58, 95% CI: 2.478- 5.182) compared to those in nuclear families. Conclusion: The current study found that place of residence, type of family, and occupation had a significant association with high-risk pregnancies. The most common risk conditions for high-risk pregnancies were a previous history of caesarean section followed by preeclampsia.