Abstract

Birth asphyxia also called perinatal asphyxia describes a condition of prolonged lack of oxygen leading to brain
hypoxia. The World Health Organisation defines Birth Asphyxia as the failure to initiate and sustain spontaneous
breathing at birth. However, in resource-replete settings, the definition of birth asphyxia includes parameters related
to impaired gas exchange such as acidaemia due to interruption of placental blood flow. It is a major contributor to
neonatal mortality worldwide causing 24% of all neonatal deaths and 11% of deaths of children under five. The aim
of the study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with birth asphyxia in Fort Portal Regional
Referral Hospital. A hospital-based, cross-sectional study with quantitative methods of data collection was
conducted in the neonatal unit of Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital. A structured questionnaire was used to
collect information on neonatal and maternal variables. The neonates were diagnosed with birth asphyxia if the
APGAR score was less than 7 in the 1st and 5th minutes. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0
and results were presented in frequency tables and pie charts. Out of the 200 neonates enrolled, 22.5% had birth
asphyxia. The prevalence of birth asphyxia was high among infants whose mothers had been in labour for greater
than 12 hours (34.4 %), gave birth by cesarean section (52.0 %), primiparous (26.8 %), mothers aged below 20 years
(35.5%), babies with birth weight less than 2.5kg (29.6%), male babies (25.2%) and those below 28weeks of gestation
(66.7%). The prevalence of birth Asphyxia is high in Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital. Factors influencing the
occurrence of birth asphyxia were duration of labour, mode of delivery, parity, maternal age, birth weight, neonatal
gender and gestational age. Mothers in labour should be adequately monitored and timely appropriate decisions on
the mode of delivery taken to minimize the risks of birth asphyxia. Community sensitization and provision of family
planning services to prevent early pregnancies should be undertaken.