A Descriptive Study to Assess Demographic Characteristics and their Association with Physiological Parameters among Preterm Infants at Sharda Hospital, Greater Noida.

Prematurity is the primary cause of mortality for children under five worldwide. There are significant disparities in survival rates between countries. In the year 2020, an estimated 13.4 million babies were born prematurely whereas, in 2019 around 9 lakh children have lost their lives due to complications associated with prematurity. In later age, many disabilities are noticed like vision defects, hearing impairments and learning disorders. The present study was to explore the demographic characteristics and their association with physiological parameters among preterm infants admitted in NICU of Sharda Hospital, Greater Noida. In quantitative study with 130 preterm infants admitted in NICU were enrolled in the study. The results found out that no significant association was present (p>0.05) between selected demographic variables (gender, gestational age, type of delivery, APGAR scoring at 1 and 5 minute) with physiological stability scores (weight gain, temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and SPO2 rate). The study concluded that While progress has been made in improving neonatal care and reducing mortality rates, disparities in healthcare access and maternal health services continue to contribute to the high prevalence of preterm births.