Birth Injuries Among New Borns: A Review of 192 Cases in Kumasi

Abstract

The incidence, trend, types and complications of physical birth injuries occurring among newborns at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi, were studied in a 5 – year retrospective review of the records of all deliveries and early neonatal admissions to the hospital between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 1994.

A total of 192 cases of birth injuries were seen. Of these, 138 (71.87%) occurred among 46,113 deliveries at KATH, giving an incidence of 2.99 birth injuries per 1000 among hospital deliveries. Fifty four injuries (28.13%) occurred among babies delivered everywhere. There was a slightly upward trend in incidence over the years studied. Soft tissue injuries (34.38%) were the most common followed by intracranial injury (33.33%). There were two cases of visceral rupture; each of htses babies died. The case fatality rate for a newborn with an intracranial injury was 33%. Prevention of birth injury, especially intracranial injury, must therefore be a component of any plan to minimize perinatal morbidity and mortality.