Risk Factors for Preterm Labor among Women Attending El Shatby Maternity University Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt

Introduction: Despite the progress made in perinatal medicine over the past two decades, the problem of preterm labor continues to frustrate satisfactory reproductive outcomes and its prevention still awaits needed improvements. Several factors have been identified to be associated with preterm birth (PTB). Objective: To identify the possible epidemiological risk factors contributing to the occurrence of preterm birth among women attending El Shatby Maternity University Hospital. Methods: A case control study was carried out. Two hundred women who delivered preterm babies (from 22 weeks to less than 37 completed weeks of gestation) were matched for BMI with 200 women who delivered full term babies (equal to or more than 37 completed weeks of gestation). Data were collected using a face to face interview, along with a record review. The variables found to be significantly related to preterm birth by the initial univariate analysis were further analyzed using a multiple logistic regression analysis.