title: Morbidity and mortality from birth before arrival at Siriraj Hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify maternal and infant morbidity and mortality from birth before arrival at Siriraj Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and twenty patients, who had delivered at Siriraj Hospital, were divided into two groups. The study group consisted of 160 patients, who gave birth before admission to the labour room of Siriraj Hospital. The control group consisted of 160 patients, who had normal deliveries in the labour room of Siriraj Hospital at the same period of time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviewing the patients and reviewing the medical records of the mothers and infants from both groups. The data were analyzed by using the EpiInfo program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Maternal and infant characteristics after delivery, maternal and infant outcomes including puerperal morbidity, low birth weight, perinatal death and infant morbidity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study showed that the mothers in the study group had to stay in the hospital longer than the control group (3.9 +/- 2.5 days and 3.6 +/- 1.3 days respectively, p < 0.05). The infants in the study group also had to stay in the hospital longer than the control group (5.1. +/- 6.5 days and 3.3 +/- 1.7 days respectively, p < 0.001). The birth weights of infants in the study group were significantly lower than in the control group (2,753.4 +/- 594.1 grams and 3,016.6 +/- 405.0. grams respectively, p < 0.001). The body temperature of the newborns in the study group were also lower than in the control group (36.2 +/- 0.6 degree Celsius and 37.0 +/- 0.4 degree Celsius respectively, p < 0.05). Concerning maternal and infant outcomes, all variables including low birth weight,perinatal death and infant morbidity were better in the control group significantly (p < 0.05) except for puerperal morbidity that had no significant difference (p = 0.77).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From the present study, the authors confirmed the higher mortality and morbidity rate of infants who were born unexpectedly before hospital admission. However, there was no difference in morbidity between the mothers of both groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand.
authors.forename: Korakot
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sirimai
authors.forename: Vitaya
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Titapant
authors.forename: Somboon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roongphornchai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008428:Maternal Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D009775:Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D018566:Pregnancy, High-Risk; D011295:Prenatal Care; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors