Small babies (preterm, small for gestational age or both) and infants of multiple gestation had a higher likelihood of dying in the neonatal stage indicating needs to provide essential neonatal care to this vulnerable group of neonates.
Sensitivity analyses were performed to examine whether age, infant sex or multiple gestation had an effect on association between risk of AID and mode of delivery.
After considering both individual and community-level characteristics in model 3, it was noticed that infants of multiple gestation had a five times higher likelihood of dying before attaining the age of one month (OR 5.30; 95% CI 2.81 – 10.00; P-value < 0.001).
We included only singleton gestations in the study because conventions for assigning gestational hCG to survivors of multiple gestations have not been set, maternal serum screening of multiple gestations appears much less common than for singleton gestations (53% compared to 65%), and sex-specific selection in utero among twins appears different than that among singletons (Catalano et al. 2009a).
When interpreting the results, the selection of the study population has to be kept in mind: risk-pregnancies due to maternal disease and multiple gestations have been excluded from the analysis so that we do not know if there is any association of the amount of folate intake from diet or supplements with spontaneous PTD in the excluded high risk pregnancies.
Of those excluded, 61 had hypertensive disorders, 37 had multiple gestations, 30 had a history of gestational smoking, opiates or alcohol consumption, 27 had infections or antibiotics use during the previous 2 weeks.
Women who had an elective caesarean section (CS) or CS before the onset of labour, presented in preterm labour (<37 weeks' <span class="lh">gestation), had a multiple pregnancy, had an unplanned home birth, or who were 'unbooked' (received no antenatal care) were excluded.
Only the records that clearly stated a gestational age less than 28 completed weeks, reported multiple gestation or had incomplete information were excluded (Fig. 1).
Women who had an elective caesarean section or caesarean section before the onset of labour, presented in preterm labour (<37 weeks' <span class="lh">gestation), had a multiple pregnancy, an unplanned home birth or who were 'unbooked' (received no antenatal care) were excluded.
Women who had a caesarean section before labour, who presented in preterm labour (<37 weeks <span class="lh">gestation), had a multiple pregnancy or who received no antenatal care were excluded, as were women who had a stillbirth before the start of care in labour.
Women who had an elective caesarean section or caesarean section before the onset of labour, presented in preterm labour (<37 weeks' <span class="lh">gestation), had a multiple pregnancy, or who were "unbooked" (received no antenatal care) or had an unplanned home birth were excluded.
