الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Nearly 140 million babies per year are born worldwide. Newborns are perhaps the most vulnerable population in the world. Not only are they biologically immature and therefore uniquely susceptible to a range of life-threatening illnesses, they are also wholly dependent on others to advocate for their health and welfare.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2009 reported that every year, nearly 4 million babies die before reaching the age of one month all over the world. These deaths exceed the deaths due to any single human infectious disease, yet they remain largely outside the consciousness of the global- health community. In Egypt, according to a report published by the WHO and UNICEF in 2010, neonatal mortality rate was 13 neonatal deaths per 1000 live births in 2008.
The Executive Summary of the Lancet Neonatal Survival Series 2005 reported that three causes; infections, preterm birth/low birth weight, and birth asphyxia account for 86% of newborn deaths, with deaths in the first week largely due to prematurity and birth asphyxia. The Lancet Neonatal Series suggested that up to 72% of these deaths (or almost 3 million deaths) could be prevented through basic, cost-effective interventions.
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The results of this study were presented in three sections. They are as follows:
Section I: predisposing factors for admission of neonates to NICU
• The mean age of the mothers of studied neonates was 26.18±5.577 years. 14.8% of the mothers aged <20 years while one tenth aged 35 years or more.
• Nearly two thirds (64.8%) of the mothers were either illiterate, read and write or have only basic education.
• Most of the mothers (97.6%) were not working.
• The mean age of fathers of studied neonates was 31.99±7.468 years. Most of the fathers (93.3%) aged 45 years or less.
• About three fifths (60.5%) of fathers of studied neonates were either illiterate, read and write or had only basic education.
• Nearly four fifths (79%) of fathers were skilled, semi-skilled or manual workers while only 4.3% were not working.
• Nearly three fifths (59%) of parents of studied neonates were residing in rural areas and 43.3% were outside Alexandria residents.
• The mean crowding index was 1.68±0.83 persons/room. Most (91.4%) of the families of studied neonates had a crowding index less than three persons per room.
• Consanguinity was reported in nearly one quarter (25.7%) of parents of studied neonates.
• Nearly one eighth (12.4%) of mothers of studied neonates had one or more chronic disease and more than a tenth (11.4%) of the mothers took long-term medications.
• About half (50.5%) of fathers of studied neonates were smokers while none of the mothers was smoker.
• Only 6.7% of mothers of studied neonates had five deliveries or more.
• Mothers of preterm neonates who had five deliveries or more are significantly more than mothers of full-term neonates.
• Only 2.4% of mothers of studied neonates had recurrent abortion (three times or more).
• About a quarter (25.2%) of the mothers had previous history of multiple pregnancies.
• Mothers of preterm neonates had history of multiple pregnancy significantly more than mothers of full-term neonates.
• The mean interval between last pregnancy and its preceding delivery was 40.09±33.37 months. More than a fifth (22.5%) of the mothers had birth interval of five years or more while 4.9% of them had birth interval of less than one year.
• More than a fifth (21.9%) of mothers of studied neonates had pre-eclampsia during their last pregnancy.
• A higher percentage of mothers of preterm neonates had pre-eclampsia compared to mothers of full-term ones.
• A minority (2.4%) of mothers of studied neonates had gestational diabetes while 29.5% of the mothers suffered from anemia during their last pregnancy.
• More than a sixth (17.6%) of mothers of studied neonates had antepartum hemorrhage during their last pregnancy.
• Mothers of preterm neonates had antepartum hemorrhage significantly more than mothers of full-term neonates.
• Most of the mothers of studied neonates (99%) received antenatal care (ANC) during their last pregnancies and the majority (85.7%) of mothers of studied neonates had more than four visits.
• More than four fifths (81.9%) of mothers of studied neonates received ANC by private physicians whereas 17.1% received them in governmental health services.
• Only about a third (36.2%) of mothers of studied neonates were vaccinated by tetanus toxoid vaccine during their last pregnancy.
• Most of the mothers (98.1%) had ultrasound scan of their last pregnancy, more than half (54.8%) of the mothers were subjected to laboratory investigations and 79% took medically prescribed medications during their last pregnancy.
• Most of mothers of studied neonates (91.4%) delivered in El Shatby hospital, 7.6% delivered either in a private or a governmental hospital while only 1% delivered at home.
• Slightly less than two thirds (64.8%) of mothers of studied neonates had a surgical cesarian delivery.
• A higher percentage of mothers of preterm neonates had a surgical cesarian delivery compared to mothers of full-term ones.
• More than half (55.2%) of the studied neonates were males.
• A third of the studied neonates were the first babies born to their parents and only 2.4% had a birth order above the fifth.
• First born babies among preterm neonates were significantly more than first born babies among full-term ones.
• Multiples constituted 22.4% of studied neonates.
• Multiple births among preterm neonates were significantly more than multiple births among full-term ones.
Section II: Data of admission of studied neonates
• The mean interval between birth and admission of studied neonates to NICU was 0.97±3.465 days.
• Most of studied neonates (98.1%) were admitted to NICU during the early neonatal period (first week of life).
• The mean interval between birth and admission among preterm neonates was significantly lower than that of full-term ones.
• More than a quarter (26.7%) of the neonates had birth weight of 1500 to less than 2500 grams (LBW). Another quarter (24.3%) of the neonates had a very low birth weight (VLBW) ranging from 1000 to less than 1500 grams while 11.4% were extremely low birth weight (ELBW) neonates i.e. less than 1000 grams.
• Birth weights of preterm neonates were significantly lower than those of full-term ones.
• The length of stay of neonates in NICU ranged from one to 85 days with the mean of 14.09±16.36 days.
• Preterm neonates had significantly longer length of stay in NICU compared to full-term neonates.
• The Apgar scores of the studied neonates at one minute ranged from one to eight with a mean of 6.34±1.34 and their Apgar scores at five minutes ranged from five to nine with a mean of 8.31±0.867.
• Apgar scores of preterm neonates at one and five minutes were significantly lower than those of full-term neonates.
• Two thirds (66.7%) of the studied neonates were admitted to NICU with prematurity.
• Nearly three fifths (58.6%) of studied neonates were admitted with respiratory disorders either respiratory distress syndrome, congenital pneumonia or transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN).
• Respiratory disorders and low birth weight were significantly associated with preterm birth while significantly more full-term neonates were admitted with neonatal jaundice than preterm ones.
Section III: Outcome of admission of neonates to NICU
• About a quarter (24.3%) of studied neonates died.
• Neonatal mortality was significantly higher among preterm than full-term neonates.