Evaluation of effective factors on the premature rupture of membranes in pregnant women referred to Afzalipour Hospital, Kerman

Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) is one of the factors that can increase maternal and neonatal mortality, which is affected by several factors. This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the frequency of preterm premature rupture of membranes in pregnant women.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in Afzalipour Hospital in Kerman from January 2018 to January 2019. All pregnant women with PPROM and normal pregnant women referred to this Hospital were included in the study through convenient sampling. The data collection tool was a checklist containing patients' demographic information (age, education, occupation, gestational age, number of pregnancies, urinary tract infection (confirmed by the attending physician), history of premature rupture of the water sac, vaginal bleeding (bleeding in any period of pregnancy as the person had visited the doctor), history of premature birth, pregnancy care and trauma (any trauma)). To analyze the data, descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation), analytical (Chi-square test) and SPSS software version 22 were used.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 400 pregnant women were studied. Two hundred of pregnant women had preterm premature rupture of membranes and 200 of pregnant women did not have such condistion and were normal. The mean age of pregnant women was 27.4±5.4 years old and the mean gestational age of pregnant women was 34.1±2.1 weeks. The mean parity of pregnant women was 2.3±1.4. Risk factors such as maternal age (P=0.011), number of pregnancies (P=0.035), maternal education (P=0.018), history of preterm premature rupture of membranes (P=0.046), history of preterm delivery (P=0.019), trauma (P=0.037) and pregnancy care (P=0.037) affected preterm premature rupture of membranes.

The results of this study showed that maternal age, number of pregnancies, maternal education, and history of preterm premature rupture of membranes, history of preterm delivery, trauma, and prenatal care are risk factors for PROM. Therefore, by educating pregnant mothers about these risk factors, the incidence and complications of preterm premature rupture of membranes can be reduced.