Aims: The use of corticosteroids and abandoning the delivery are of preventive actions of newborns' respiratory distress syndrome. The aim of this clinical trial was to compare the effect of one versus two doses of Betamethasone on the outcomes of preterm infants. Materials & Methods: In this quasi-experimental clinical trial, 100 preterm labor pregnant women who referred to Sanandaj Be'sat Hospital in 2013 were selected by purposive sampling method and were divided into one dose (12mg Betamethasone) and two doses (12mg Betamethasone with the interval of 24 hours) groups. Information about delivery and gender, weight and Apgar scores of newborn were recorded in the checklist. Newborns were examined for infant respiratory distress syndrome, necrotizing enterocolitis, cerebral hemorrhage and neonatal death. Data were analyzed in SPSS 20 software by Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests. Findings: 14 newborns (28%) in one dose and 13 (24.5%) in two doses group had respiratory distress syndrome (p=0.689). 4 newborns (8%) in one dose and 7 (13.2%) in two doses group had enterocolitis and 8 newborns (16%) in one dose and 9 (17%) in two doses group needed respiratory support (p>0.05). Conclusion: Single-dose or two doses administration of Betamethasone in preterm mothers have no impact on newborn after birth.

Background Preterm birth is one of the most common causes of mortality in infants. Despite advances in health care and better access to health services in many countries, preterm birth has increased over the past two decades. Methods This case control study was conducted on two groups with 100 participants including 100 preterm infants (case) and 100 term infants (control) with gender match in Kurdistan Province-Iran in 2018. The required information was collected from medical files and interviewing the mothers as to demographical information, midwifery specifications, background diseases, disease over pregnancy term, and infants’ information. Conditional logistic regression test was used to estimate the final model and compute the risk ratio. Results Multivariate regression analysis showed that the risk of preterm birth in individual with AB blood type was higher (OR=5.04; 95% CI 1.40-18.08). In addition, the risk of preterm birth was higher in the mothers with a history of stillbirth (OR=13.63; 95% CI 1.39-133.5). Preterm birth was significantly related to the history of birth diseases, history of pregnancy diseases, and using medicine for specific diseases during pregnancy. Conclusions Blood type of mother, history of still birth, history of birth disease, history of pregnancy diseases, using medicines for specific diseases, and history of preterm birth were the risk factors of preterm birth. These factors need to be taken into account before and during pregnancy. Paying more attention to these factors attenuates the rate of preterm birth and premature infants and in turn the mortality rate of infants and mothers.

Background: Preterm birth is one of the most common causes of mortality in infants. Despite advances in health care and better access to health services in many countries, preterm birth has increased over the past two decades. Methods: This case control study was conducted on two groups with 100 participants including 100 preterm infants (case) and 100 term infants (control) with gender match in Kurdistan Province-Iran in 2018. The required information was collected from medical files and interviewing the mothers as to demographical information, midwifery specifications, background diseases, disease over pregnancy term, and infants’ information. Conditional logistic regression test was used to estimate the final model and compute the risk ratio. Results: Multivariate regression analysis showed that the risk of preterm birth in individual with AB blood type was higher (OR=5.04; 95%; CI 1.40-18.08). In addition, the risk of preterm birth was higher in the mothers with a history of stillbirth (OR=13.63; 95% CI 1.39-133.5). Preterm birth was significantly related to the history of birth diseases, history of pregnancy diseases, and using medicine for specific diseases during pregnancy. Conclusions: Blood type of mother, history of still birth, history of birth disease, history of pregnancy diseases, using medicines for specific diseases, and history of preterm birth were the risk factors of preterm birth. These factors need to be taken into account before and during pregnancy. Paying more attention to these factors attenuates the rate of preterm birth and premature infants and in turn the mortality rate of infants and mothers.