ASSESSMENT OF THE SITUATION OF NORMAL AND ABNORMAL BIRTHS

Abstract Introduction: According to the WHO, normal birth begins spontaneously, occurs only by physiological processes, and the child is born spontaneously with cephalic presentation between weeks 37 - 42 of pregnancy. Approximately 15% of pregnancies for maternal-fetal life-threatening complications. These pregnancies require careful observation by medical personnel (doctor and midwife) to bring a healthy mother and baby. The aim of this study was to assess the situation of normal births and complications in the Queen Geraldine University Hospital of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Tirana Albania. Methodology: was retrospective observational study, we collected the data through the maternity cards for the years 2021-2022.Data gathered on November-December 2023. Data was coded and elaborated using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 software. Results: There were (n=12256) births for both years and the highest number was in 2022 with 51.46% of the total number of births. The age group with the highest number of births was 25-34 years old with 66.42%. For two years, 30.5% are normal births and 69.5% are births with maternal and fetal risk. Among the most frequent complications were post-section births, pelvic injuries with 18.05% of births, followed by premature rupture of membranes, unspecified with 13.18%. Conclusion: Our findings reflect the situation of births in the maternity hospital by identifying high-risk births that require timely identification, evaluation, and treatment. Midwives are the ones who stay for the longest time at any moment before, during, and after the birth activity with the patients and can identify and catch all the problems of the mother and the baby in time. A qualified midwife identifies and manages every problem of the mother and the baby. Policymakers should focus on continuous training of midwives so that every complication is identified and managed in time, this will lead to good access to care and reduction of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality.