Pregnancy and delivery characteristics and outcomes in Northwestern Syria: A prospective cohort study.

Objective: Detail a picture of the current pregnancy and delivery characteristics and outcomes in Northwestern Syria.

Methods: This is a prospective observational study, using an electronic health information system, from four healthcare centers in two provinces in Northwestern Syria. We classified the population into two groups: Displaced people are those who live inside refugee camps; and residents are housed outside the camps.

Results: We analyzed data from 21 294 pregnant women. Among them 69.6% were displaced. Less than 1% of all care met the standard WHO's antenatal guidelines, and 3.9% met the focused WHO guidelines. Displaced women were more likely to have no antenatal visits (35.8% vs. 25.4%). We found a high rate of anemia (45.8%), prevalence of adolescent pregnancy (20.7%), cesarean-section (25.2%), preterm birth (4.2%), low birth weight (8.3%), and newborn mortality rate within 24 hours of birth (1.2%). Preterm births were more likely to occur in women who had no record of antenatal visits (4.2%) and the prevalence decreased with the increasing number of antenatal visits.

Conclusion: We found huge deficiency in perinatal care among all women in this region. We found high cesarean-section rate, anemia, premature birth, newborn mortality within 24 h of birth, and high adolescent pregnancy.