The profile of high risk pregnancy in Damanhour city

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Lecturer, obstetric and Gynecological Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University, Egypt

2 Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecologic Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt.

3 Professor Obstetrics and Gynecologic Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University, Egypt.

4 Professor Obstetrics and Gynecologic Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt.

Abstract

                       Background: A woman's pregnancy is a physiologically normal time in her life. However, just like any other stage, it might place the women on a continuum of high risk, from low risk to high risk. A high-risk pregnancy is one where the mother's life or the health of the fetus is endangered. Risk factors may have already existed before becoming pregnant or they may emerge as the pregnancy progresses. Due to the increased risk of perinatal mortality and morbidity during high-risk pregnancies, extraordinary, individualized care must be given. Objective: To identify the profile of high-risk pregnancy in Damanhur city. Settings: The antenatal clinic in Damanhur Medical National Institute (D.M.N.I) and the three available maternity and child health centers (MCH) in Damanhur city. Namely: Elhelal ELKadem MCH center, Shoubra MCH center and Abou Abdellah MCH center. Subjects: A convenience sample of 250 pregnant women attending the aforementioned settings was proportionately distributed based on the turnover rates of each setting. Tools: Two tools were utilized to gather data: Tool I: Structured interview schedule for pregnant women's basic data Tool II: pregnancy risk inventory score. Results: According to the study, 75.2% of the study participants had high-risk pregnancies, 20.0% had moderate-risk pregnancies, and 4.8% had low-risk pregnancies. Conclusion: According to the results of the current study, Damanhur's profile of high-risk pregnancies showed that 75 percent of the study subjects were at high risk. Recommendations: All pregnant women who visit antenatal clinics should be subjected to appropriate screening procedures to detect risk factors for them.

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