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Many perinatal deaths follow birth asphyxia that occurs in babies of women who are referred on developing life-threatening obstetric complications. Objectives: To determine the antenatal and intrapartum risk factors for perinatal asphyxia among babies delivered by women admitted as emergency obstetric referrals. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Pediatric Unit 1, Nishtar Hospital Multan, Pakistan. Period: From May 2017 to April 2018. Material & Methods: A total of 150 newborn term babies (and their mothers) with a 1, 5, & 10-minutes Apgar score 4 or less (perinatal asphyxia) were considered for the study. Antepartum and intraparturn risk factors were noted among newborn babies (and their mothers) from socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric complications or labour management. Results: Out of150 neonates, 57(38%) were presented with perinatal asphyxia at the age of 1 minute, 62(41.3%) at the age of 5 minutes and 31(20.1%) neonates were presented at the age of 10 minutes. In these cases, 45(30%) were related to maternal causes, 71(47.3%) to placental causes and 34(22.7%) to fetal cause. Conclusions: Early recognition of antepartum and intraparturn risk factors for perinatal axphyxiaamong emergency obstetric referrals, followed by prompt and appropriate management, may reduce the perinatal deaths from perinatal asphyxia.

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