Reducing birth asphyxia in maternity ward of Masaka district hospital

Abstract

Background: The burn of birth asphyxia is still critical in sub-Sahara Africa in general, in East and Central Africa in particular. In Africa 75% of birth asphyxia are from low- and middle income countries (LMICs) and nearby 50% are during labor due to poor obstetric facilities. In Rwanda neonatal birth asphyxia accounts for 3.9% live birth in District hospitals and MasakaDistrict Hospital accounts for 8% of to live births. The quality improvement project was implemented at Masaka District Hospital in order to identify the real root causes of the high rate of birth asphyxia. Objective: Reducing birth asphyxia in maternity ward at Masaka District Hospital from 8% to 4% by December 2021 Methodology: Pre and post intervention study design was used. The root cause analysis was conducted where workload, shortage of staff and lack of motivation were identified as root cause of birth asphyxia. Microsoft Excel and Microsoft word were used for data entry and SPSS version 25 was used for data analysis. Results: The rate of birth asphyxia was 8% pre intervention and reduced to 2% post intervention(P= 0.004). The compliance to the standards of staff working hours, increasing number of staff in labor ward and staff motivation contributed to decrease the rate of birth asphyxia in Masaka hospital maternity ward and the alternative hypothesis was accepted and caesarian mode of delivery, both male and female sex are factors predisposing to birth asphyxia. Conclusion: increasing staff motivation, roaster rearrangement according to available workloadcontributed to the reduction of high rate of birth asphyxia in Masaka District Hospital. Keywords: Birth Asphyxia