The Effective Factors of Preterm Labor

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Medical Student, Factulty of Medicine, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzever, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran.

4 M.Sc. in Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran. PhD Candidate of Medical Education, Department of Medical Education, Clinical Education Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

10.22038/ijogi.2025.81229.6141

Abstract

Introduction: Preterm labor is one of the most common causes of infant death. Premature babies are also exposed to neurological, vision, hearing, etc. disorders. Considering that there is no special treatment to stop the process of preterm labor, the present study was conducted with aim to determine the effective factors of preterm labor in Sabzevar city.
Methods: This case-control study was conducted in 2019 on 323 women with preterm labor as the case group and 300 women with term labor as the control group at Shahidan Mobini Hospital in Sabzevar. Data related to maternal information were collected using a checklist. Data analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software (version 24) and Mann-Whitney, Chi-square, and logistic regression tests. P<0.05was considered significant.
Results: There was a direct and significant statistical relationship between preterm labor and maternal age, average number of visits, maternal weight, consanguineous marriage, low income, medical history, family history, oral and dental infection, assisted reproductive methods, history of infertility, history of abortion, history of stillbirth, history of preterm labor, threatened abortion, vaginal bleeding, history of cesarean section, and length of standing. There was an inverse statistical relationship between activity level, maternal weight gain, maternal height, and preterm delivery (p<0.05). Based on the results of multiple logistic regression, the variables of history of infertility (odds ratio=7.009 with a confidence interval of 2.73 and 17.994), history of preterm delivery (odds ratio=4.726 with a confidence interval of 2.212 and 10.098), and threatened miscarriage (odds ratio=11.355 with a confidence interval of 5.125 and 25.158) were predictors of preterm delivery.
Conclusion: Maternal age, history of preterm delivery in first-degree relatives, consanguineous marriage of couples, history of underlying disease in the mother, history of oral and dental infection in the mother, and history of obstetrics in the mother showed a significant effect on preterm delivery.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Abu Hamad KH, Abed Y, Abu Hamad B. Risk factors associated with preterm birth in the Gaza Strip: hospital-based case-control study. Eastern Mediterranean health journal 2007; 13(5):1132-41.
  2. Walani SR. Global burden of preterm birth. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 2020; 150(1):31-3.
  3. Harrison MS, Goldenberg RL. Global burden of prematurity. InSeminars in fetal and neonatal medicine 2016; 21(2):74-79.
  4. Chen CP, Wang KG, Yang YC, See LC. Risk factors for preterm birth in an upper middle class Chinese population. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 1996; 70(1):53-9.
  5. Derakhshi B, Esmailnasab N, Ghaderi E, Hemmatpour S. Risk factor of preterm labor in the west of iran: a case-control study. Iranian journal of public health 2014; 43(4):499.
  6. Blencowe H, Cousens S, Chou D, Oestergaard M, Say L, Moller AB, et al. Born too soon: the global epidemiology of 15 million preterm births. Reproductive health 2013; 10:1-4.
  7. Giouleka S, Tsakiridis I, Kostakis N, Koutsouki G, Kalogiannidis I, Mamopoulos A, et al. Preterm labor: a comprehensive review of guidelines on diagnosis, management, prediction and prevention. Obstetrical & gynecological survey 2022; 77(5):302-17.
  8. Vakilian K, Ranjbaran M, Khorsandi M, Sharafkhani N, Khodadost M. Prevalence of preterm labor in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine 2015; 13(12):743.
  9. Agah J, Roodsarabi F, Manzuri A, Amirpour M, Hosseinzadeh A. Prevalence and associated risk factors of gestational diabetes mellitus in a tertiary hospital in Iran. Clin Exp Obstet Gynecol 2019; 46(1):85–89.
  10. Abbassinia H, Dashti S, Gholami R, Ghalekhondabi L, Borumandnia N. Increasing Trend and Influencing Factors of Pre-term Labor in Iran from 2005 to 2019. Iranian Journal of Pediatrics 2023; 33(6).
  11. Zewudie AT, Gelagay AA, Enyew EF. Determinants of Under‐Five Child Mortality in Ethiopia: Analysis Using Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey, 2016. International journal of pediatrics 2020; 2020(1):7471545.
  12. Varma R, James D. Antenatal care of women with previous preterm delivery. Current Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2004; 14(3):207-15.
  13. Crump C, Sundquist J, Winkleby MA, Sundquist K. Gestational age at birth and mortality from infancy into mid-adulthood: a national cohort study. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health 2019; 3(6):408-17.
  14. Mahmoudi Zadeh M, Nemati E, Rezaei F, Sharafi H. The prevalence of premature and low weight neonate birth and risk factors in operating room staffs of Bandarabbas educational hospitals. Zanko Journal of Medical Sciences 2017; 18(58):61-7.
  15. Waitzman NJ, Jalali A, Grosse SD. Preterm birth lifetime costs in the United States in 2016: an update. Inseminars in Perinatology 2021; 45(3):151390.
  16. Haile TG, Pereira G, Norman R, Tessema GA. Economic burden of adverse perinatal outcomes from births to age 5 years in high-income settings: a protocol for a systematic review. BMJ open 2024; 14(1):e079077.
  17. Dodd JM, Crowther CA, Middleton P. Oral betamimetics for maintenance therapy after threatened preterm labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2012; 12(12):CD003927.
  18. Raymajhi R, Pratap K. A comparative study between nifedipine and isoxsuprine in the suppression of preterm labour. Kathmandu University medical journal (KUMJ) 2003; 1(2):85-90.
  19. Agah J, Baghani R, Nazarzadeh M, Borna S. Comparison of effacement curve with dilatation curve for prediction of labor progression. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research 2018; 44(1):102-8.
  20. Derakhshi B, Esmailnasab N, Ghaderi E, Hemmatpour S. Risk factor of preterm labor in the west of iran: a case-control study. Iranian journal of public health 2014; 43(4):499.
  21. Mitrogiannis I, Evangelou E, Efthymiou A, Kanavos T, Birbas E, Makrydimas G, et al. Risk factors for preterm birth: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies. BMC medicine 2023; 21(1):494.
  22. Ebrahimi S, Haghbin S, PoorMahmoodi A. Incidence and etiologic factors of prematurity 2000: 35-41.
  23. Heaman M, Kingston D, Chalmers B, Sauve R, Lee L, Young D. Risk Factors for Preterm Birth and Small‐for‐gestational‐age Births among C anadian Women. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology 2013; 27(1):54-61.
  24. Maghsoudlou S, Beyene J, Yu ZM, McDonald SD. Phenotypic classification of preterm birth among multiparous women: A population-based cohort study. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada 2019; 41(10):1433-43.
  25. Sari RDP, Sutarto, Utama WT. Analysis of the Relationship between Adolescent Pregnancy and the Incidence of Preterm Labor at Kalirejo Health Center, Katon District, Pesawaran Regency. Kurdish Studies 2023; 11(2):5582–8.
  26. Nabavizadeh SH, Malekzadeh M, Mousavizadeh A, Shirazi HR, Ghaffari P, Karshenas N, et al. Retrospective study of factors related to preterm labor in Yasuj, Iran. International journal of general medicine 2012:1013-7.
  27. Newburn-Cook CV, Onyskiw JE. Is older maternal age a risk factor for preterm birth and fetal growth restriction? A SystematicReview. Health care for women international 2005; 26(9):852-75.
  28. Fuchs F, Monet B, Ducruet T, Chaillet N, Audibert F. Effect of maternal age on the risk of preterm birth: A large cohort study. PloS one 2018; 13(1):e0191002.
  29. Verma I, Avasthi K, Berry V. Urogenital infections as a risk factor for preterm labor: a hospital-based case–control study. The journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India 2014; 64:274-8.
  30. Roozbeh N, Moradi S, Soltani S, Zolfizadeh F, Hasani MT, Yabandeh AP. Factors associated with preterm labor in Hormozgan province in 2013. Electronic physician 2016; 8(9):2918.
  31. Aljawadi HF, Ali EA, Kareem SH. Preterm Incidence with Analytical Assessment of Causes and Risk Factors of Mortality. Journal of Babol University of Medical Sciences 2020; 22(1).
  32. Mohsenzadeh A, Saket S, Karimi A. Prevalence of preterm neonates and risk factors; 2011.
  33. Svensson AC, Sandin S, Cnattingius S, Reilly M, Pawitan Y, Hultman CM, et al. Maternal effects for preterm birth: a genetic epidemiologic study of 630,000 families. American journal of epidemiology 2009; 170(11):1365-72.
  34. Doshi P, Kaur M. Prevalence and Risk Factors of Preterm Labor among Pregnant Women: A Prospective Cohort Study. Journal of Cardiovascular Disease Research 2023: 1468-1474.
  35. Namakin K, Sharifzadeh G, Malekizadeh A. To Identify the Risk Factors in Prematurity Birth in Birjand, Iran: A Case – Control Study. IRJE 2011; 7(3):1-5.
  36. Mehran N, Abaszadeh F, Bagheri A. Study of relation between physical activity and preterm birth. Qom Univ Med Sci J 2012; 6(1):17-22.
  37. Cunningham FG, Leveno KJ, Dashe JS, Hoffman BL, Spong CY, Casey BM. Williams Obstetrics. 26nd New York: McGraw-Hill; 2022.
  38. Gomez-Lopez N, Galaz J, Miller D, Farias-Jofre M, Liu Z, Arenas-Hernandez M, et al. The immunobiology of preterm labor and birth: intra-amniotic inflammation or breakdown of maternal–fetal homeostasis. Reproduction 2022; 164(2):R11-45.
  39. Seravalli L, Patterson F, Nelson DB. Role of perceived stress in the occurrence of preterm labor and preterm birth among urban women. Journal of midwifery & women's health 2014; 59(4):374-9.
  40. Ratzon R, Sheiner E, Shoham-Vardi I. The role of prenatal care in recurrent preterm birth. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 2011; 154(1):40-4.
The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility
Volume 28, Issue 5
July 2025
Pages 38-48

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics