Assessment of the Recorded Causes of Neonatal Hospitalization and the Related Factors in Neonatal Wards and NICUs in Bojnord

According to Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number 4, child mortality should be reduced by two thirds by 2015. The focus has been on decreasing neonatal deaths in high-mortality countries. In this study, we assessed the recorded causes of neonatal hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and infant care wards. The present cross-sectional study was carried out in two hospitals (Bentolhoda hospital and Emam Reza hospital) of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnord in 2011-2012. We assessed different variables such as maternal age at infant’s birth, gestational age, first and fifth minute Apgar scores, and hospitalization etiology. Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for the statistical analysis. In this study, the most common cause of neonatal admission was icterus. Most of the infants'' birth weight was higher than 2,500 gr.There was a relationship between Apgar score in the first and fifth minutes and causes of hospitalization (P<0.001). Infants'' gender and maternal mode of delivery had no significant relationship with the cause hospitalization (P<0.06). However, birth weight and gestational age were significantly related to the causes of admission in hospitals (P<0.0001). Identifying the factors which influence the hospitalization of infants can help control these risk factors.It can also lead to the decrease of neonatal mortality, which is a reflection of nations’ socio-economic status.