Pregnancy Outcomes in Kerman Cities: Using Clustering Methods

Managing pregnancy complications is a major health concern worldwide. This study aimed at investigating the pregnancy outcomes in mothers and infants in Kerman province and ranking important indicators in different cities of Kerman using cluster analysis method.
In this cross-sectional study, demographic information and pregnancy outcomes were extracted from the mother and infant national system of Kerman province in 2014 and imported into Excel file. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software through clustering.
More than 98% of deliveries were performed in hospitals. The prevalence of cesarean section was 44%. Three maternal deaths occurred in hospitals and the prevalence of neonatal death was 0.9%. Approximately, 10.1% of infants born in Kerman had low birth weight. Clustering different cities of Kerman province showed 4 different clusters in Kerman province. Kerman was in a single cluster. Cities with no specialists or those very close to Kerman were in one cluster. Three large cities in the south of Kerman province and Rafsanjan were clustered. Two cities located in the southwest of Kerman were clustered in a group.
The rate of cesarean section is high and low birth weight is a health issue in this area. Thus, policymakers should pay more attention to mother and neonate deaths that occur in hospitals. Bad pregnancy outcomes are more frequent in referral cities, as high risk pregnancies are more frequent in such cities. Governments should focus on equipping hospitals in referral cities and build and upgrade hospitals in disadvantaged cities.