DETERMINANTS OF PRETERM BIRTH AMONG MOTHERS WHO GAVE BIRTH AT A REFERRAL HOSPITAL, NORTHWEST ETHIOPIA: UNMATCHED CASE- CONTROL STUDY.

Preterm birth is described as babies that are born alive before the end of 37 weeks of pregnancy. About 15 million babies are born preterm annually and more than a million died due to complications. In developing nations, like Ethiopia, PTB is underreported and underestimated. Objective - to identify determinates of preterm birth among mothers who gave birth at Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Unmatched case-control study design was conducted. The total sample size was 558 mothers 140 cases and 418 controls. Simple random sampling was used to select the study population. Data were coded and entered into Epidata, version 3.2, and was analyzed by using STATA version 14. Mothers with a history of antepartum hemorrhage (AOR 3.53, 95% CI 1.31-9.47), premature rupture of membrane (AOR 8.9, 95% CI 4.51-17.57), pregnancy-induced hypertension (AOR 3.65, 95% CI 1.78-7.51), history of multiple pregnancies (AOR 2.49, 95% CI 0.89-6.95), primigravida (AOR 0.16, 95% CI 0.03-0.97) and Primiparity(AOR 0.054, 95% CI 0.05-0.64) had statistically significant association with experiencing preterm birth. The odds of giving preterm birth were higher among women with antepartum hemorrhage, PIH, PROM, and multiple pregnancies, but lower among primigravida and primiparous mothers.