Risks of Preterm Labour among Women Who Attend Public Antenatal Care Clinics

Abstract

Preterm births are the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Complications of prematurity are the single largest cause of neonatal death and the second leading cause of deaths among children under the age of five years. The study aimed to identify the possible causes for preterm labour among women who attend antenatal care clinics in the East London area of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Health District in South Africa. A quantitative, explorative, descriptive, and retrospective design was used. The target population was women who delivered preterm infants in the year 2014. Patient files were used to collect the data and simple random sampling was used to select patient files. The sample only included women who delivered preterm infants who received antenatal care at primary healthcare clinics. An audit tool was developed and used to collect data. The findings suggest that many of the women did not receive quality antenatal care with certain tests and procedures being omitted and underreported by nurses, leading to some conditions being poorly monitored or even undiagnosed. In conclusion, many preterm births could be prevented among women who attend antenatal care clinics, provided that they attend early, adhere to return dates and experience quality basic antenatal care services.