Preterm Birth and Associated Factors Among Mothers Who Gave Birth in Fafen Zone Public Hospitals, Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia

Background: The burden of preterm birth is a serious public health concern contributing substantially to neonatal death and a significant cause of long-term loss of human potential. Despite the majority of preterm births have no clear risk factors, identifying factors shown to have an increased risk of preterm birth may have paramount importance in designing an effective intervention strategy. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of preterm birth and associated factors among mothers who gave birth in public hospitals of Fafen Zone, Somali region, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in public hospitals of Fafen Zone, Somali regional state, Eastern Ethiopia, from March 1st to April 1st, 2019. Systematic sampling technique has been used to select 607 immediate postnatal mothers with newborn. Data were collected by face-to-face interviewers using a structured and pretested questionnaire and reviewing the mother's profile card. The outcome measure of interest was preterm birth. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses had been performed using SPSS version 20. Statistically significant association of variables had been claimed based on the Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with its 95% CI and P-value <0.05. Results: This study showed that 74 (12.3%) of a total of 600 Mothers gave preterm birth. Being a rural resident [(AOR=4.48, 95% CI: (1.39-14.44)], having a history of abortion [(AOR=5.01, 95% CI: (1.86-13.45)], having hypertensive disorder of pregnancy [(AOR=3.32, 95% CI: (1.08-10.20)], being female sex [(AOR=8.32, 95% CI: (4.56-17.05)], and being low birth weight of newborn [(AOR=3.80, 95% CI: (1.55-9.82)] were found to be significantly associated with preterm birth. Conclusion: The prevalence of preterm birth in the study area was 12.3%. Different prenatal and newborn care intervention strategies shall consider the factors associated to improve pregnancy outcome and thereby reducing preterm related death in the study area.