A study of risk score assessment in antenatal women and their neonatal outcome in a tertiary care hospital
A high-risk pregnancy is any condition associated with a pregnancy where there is an actual or potential risk to the mother or fetus. Risk assessment is a key component of antenatal care (ANC) and has demonstrated benefits in improving maternal and perinatal outcomes. To assess maternal complications that occurs in antenatal women and their neonatal outcomes in a tertiary care hospital.200 antenatal women, admitted to obstetrics & gynaecology department from 16-09-2020 to 15-03-2021 were evaluated. Antenatal women with maternal complications (Gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, Gestational diabetes, Hypothyroid, Anaemia, Asthma and oligohydramnios) were taken into study group and women with no complications were taken into control group. The risk factors were assessed and risk scores were determined by Dutta and Das scoring system and Hobel risk scoring system. It was found that there was a significant association between poor neonatal outcome and high-risk pregnancies. The incidence of preterm births is higher in the study group (34.1%) when compared with the control group (13.7%). Mode of delivery was predominantly by caesarean section in the study group (p<0.005). Neonatal complications were significantly more (p<0.05) in study group and fetal distress was exclusively seen in the study group (p<0.0005). Maternal complications such as eclampsia correlated significantly with the risk score (p=0.005). Neonatal outcomes such as Low birth weight (p<0.0001) were higher in the high-risk category when compared to the low risk and moderate risk category. There was a significant correlation between high-risk antenatal and poor neonatal outcome. Scoring systems, such as the one used in our study, can be adopted at primary and rural health centres even by a non-medical counsellor as a screening tool to predict pregnancies at high risk for poor neonatal outcome, thereby facilitating early referral of these women to tertiary care centres.