Exploring the Incidence of Premature Rupture of Membrane and its Associated Factors in Public Hospitals of Eastern Zone Tigray Region, Ethiopia, 2019

Background:Premature membrane rupture is an obstetric emergency when the fetal membrane ruptures and the amniotic fluid is expelled from the uterus at least one hour before the start of labor. The incidence of PROM during pregnancy is a concern to obstetrics as it is associated with many adverse pregnancy outcomes such as chorioamnionitis oligohydramnios, preterm labour, neonatal sepsis and neonatal asphyxia.Objective:The aim of this study was to explore the incidence of premature rupture of membranes and its associated factors in public hospitals of the eastern zone, Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia, 2019.Methods:The authors used a facility-based cross-sectional study design to study 212 participants from April to May 2019. The sample size was calculated by using a single population proportion formula. An interviewer-administered, pre-tested, and structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The analysis was run using SPSS version 20. Finally, the odds ratio with 95% CI was used to measure the association after multivariable analysis and statistical significance was evaluated at p-value <0.05.Results:The incidence of premature rupture of a membrane in this study was 29 (13.7%). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that predictors like multigravida 2.1(1.94-6.03) having sexually transmitted infection AOR 1.3 and 95% CI (1.02-5.56) and previous history of premature rupture of membrane AOR and 95% CI 3.9 (1.9-10.02) were found to be associated with the occurrence of premature rupture of membrane.Conclusions:The incidence of premature rupture of the membrane in this study was high. Hence its occurrence put the health of the mother and the fetus in danger. Pregnant mothers with preexisting obstetric and medical cases should be followed with special emphasis as a pretext to prevent the occurrence of maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes.