Causes of Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality in Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Introduction: Neonatal morbidity and mortality continue to be serious public health issues in developing countries, where it also has a considerable impact on the under-five mortality rate.

Aims: To determine the causes of morbidity and mortality in neonates admitted to the inborn Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BHUTH), Jos.

Study Design: Cross Sectional Descriptive study.

Place and Duration of Study: Inborn Neonatology Unit of the Department of Paediatrics, Bingham University teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.

Methodology: A retrospective analysis of the records of all the babies admitted into the inborn SCBU of BHUTH over an 18-month period of January 2021 to June 2022 was done. We included 195 babies (99 males, 96 females)

Results: A total of 196 patients were admitted into the inborn SCBU of BHUTH during the period reviewed and 195 (99.5%) had complete records. There were 99 (50.8%) males and 96 (49.2%) females with M: F of 1.03:1. The leading causes of admission were prematurity (51.3%), asphyxia (21.5%) and neonatal jaundice (10.8%). Nine (4.6%) infants had severe birth asphyxia, while 33 (16.9%) had moderate birth asphyxia. Twenty-eight deaths were recorded over the 18-month period giving a mortality rate of 14.4%. Prematurity (71.4%) and severe birth asphyxia (17.9%) were the leading causes of death. Of all the deaths that occurred, 9 (32.1%) occurred within the first 24 hours of hospitalization, while 3 (10.7%) of them died after 7 days of admission.

Conclusion: In our community, the neonatal mortality rate is still very high. This death rate can be decreased with the support of concerted efforts to guarantee appropriate antenatal care, close monitoring of labour, and enhanced neonatal unit facilities for newborn care.