Respiratory Morbidity in Late-Preterm Births: A Prospective Observational Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Objectives: To study the neonatal respiratory morbidity in late-preterm neonates. Materials and methods: This study was done over a period of 6 months (November 2014–April 2015) including 120 late-preterm births at a tertiary referral center. Results: Among the 120 late-preterm babies, 42 (35 %) developed respiratory morbidity. Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) developed in 43 % of the babies who had not received steroid prophylaxis against 25.8 % receiving the same (p < 0.05). Among the indicated late-preterm deliveries, 45 % of babies developed respiratory morbidity in comparison with 22 % of the babies born following spontaneous onset of labor (p < 0.05). In the neonates with respiratory morbidity, male babies had a higher incidence than their female counterparts (48 vs. 24 % p < 0.05). Severity of RDS declined from 57 % for babies born at 34 weeks of gestation to 26.3 % for those born at 36 weeks (p 0.14). With each advancing week of gestation a significant reduction in the need for ventilator support (78 % at 34 weeks to 15 % at 36 weeks of gestation p < 0.05) was observed. Presence of antenatal risk factors did not significantly contribute to the respiratory morbidity. Conclusion: The severity of respiratory morbidity and need for ventilator support declines with advancing gestational age; hence, every attempt must be made to prolong pregnancy till 36 weeks of gestation.