High Risk Pregnancy: A Retrospective Study

Authors

  • Ibtihal M Fadhil Department of Community Medicine Basrah Medical College Basrah Iraq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5915/30-1-16284

Keywords:

Antenatal care, Pregnancy, Risk factors, Scoring system, Iraq, Basrah

Abstract

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5915/30-1-16284

The records of 408 pregnant women were reviewed to measure staff performance and work efficiency in four maternal and child health centers in Southern Iraq. Under-recording was evident as only 18% of the women were identifed as high risk by the health staff; whereas, the author identified two thirds of the pregnant women (66%) as high risk because of having one or more of the risk factors. The results of the study show the inability of staff to recognize the importance of risk identification and antenatal care continuity. No correlation was found between antenatal care and the place of delivery. The performance of some of the necessary screening tests was poor. Discussion will include further staff training and a new risk scoring system as a means to improve the efficiency of health workers and improve the effectiveness of the risk strategy in antenatal care in that setting.

Author Biography

Ibtihal M Fadhil, Department of Community Medicine Basrah Medical College Basrah Iraq

MBChB, MSc, PhD

Department of Community Medicine
Basrah Medical College
Basrah
Iraq

Downloads

Published

1998-02-01

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 1 (1998)

Section

Original Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).