Association between obstetric complications & previous pregnancy outcomes with current pregnancy outcomes in Uttar Pradesh, India

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: A substantial proportion of pregnant women in India are at the risk of serious obstetric complications and reliable information on obstetric morbidity is scanty, particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged society. We studied the association between the obstetric complications in women in their current pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes in previous pregnancies in Uttar Pradesh, India. METHODS: Data from District Level Household Survey (2007-2008) were used for empirical assessment. Bivariate, trivariate and Cox proportional hazard regression model analyses were applied to examine the effect of obstetric complications and previous pregnancy outcome on current pregnancy outcome among currently married women (age group 15-49 yr) in Uttar Pradesh, India. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that the obstetric complications in the current pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes in previous pregnancies were associated with the outcome of the current pregnancy. Cox proportional hazard regression model estimates revealed that the hazard ratio of having stillbirths were significantly higher among women with any obstetric complications compared to women with no obstetric complications. The adverse pregnancy outcome in a previous pregnancy was the largest risk factor for likelihood of developing similar type of adverse pregnancy outcome in the current pregnancy. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: The findings provided key insights for health policy interventions in terms of prevention of obstetric complications to avoid the adverse pregnancy outcome in women.