Evaluation of Fetal Outcome in High-Risk Term Pregnancies Using Non-Stress Test at a Tertiary Hospital in Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: High-risk pregnancies include pregnancy with co-existing chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, asthma, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, renal disease, HIV, auto-immune diseases, etc. A high-risk pregnancy is defined as a pregnancy in which there is a significant probability of an adverse maternal or fetal outcome that is more than the incidence of that outcome in the general populace. Aim: To evaluate the outcome of high-risk term pregnancies using non-stress tests. Materials and Method: A prospective study of 160 subjects using non-stress tests to evaluate high-risk term pregnancies at NAUTH, Nnewi. Results: The most frequent age group of occurrence was 25-34 years. There were more multigravida than primigravida women. The fetal outcomes were as follows; fetal distress absent in 91.1%, clear amniotic fluid = 91.8% while meconium-stain = 8.2%, admission into neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) = 12.0%, no stillbirths were recorded, and neonatal birth weight > 2.5kg = 94.3% while < 2.5kg = 5.7%. The association between NST and fetal outcomes showed fetal distress, admission into the NICU, amniotic fluid colour, mode of delivery, and APGARS score were not statistically significant p > 0.05.  The association between fetal birth weight and NST was statistically significant p < 0.05. Conclusion: There is an association between non-stress tests and fetal birth weight.