Abstract:
Background: Neonatal asphyxia is a common and preventable cause of infant morbidity and
mortality throughout the world, especially in developing nations like Ethiopia. The situation
could be improved by early detection and control of the underlying contributing variables.
The aim of this research was to evaluate the magnitude and contributing factors of neonatal
asphyxia among live newborns at public hospitals in the Wolaita zone of Ethiopia.
Objective: To assess the magnitude of neonatal asphyxia and its associated factor among
newborns in selected public Hospitals of Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia, 2023.
Method: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 330 neonate of mother
who gave birth in selected hospitals. A systematic random sampling technique was used to
select the study participants. Data were collected through an interviewer-administered
questionnaire and checklist. The collected data were entered into EpiData version 4.6 and
exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. Logistic regression was fitted to examine the
association between explanatory variables and the neonatal asphyxia. In multivariable logistic
regression, AOR with 95% CI was reported, and p<0.05 was used to declare statistically
significant variables with the neonatal asphyxia.
Results: The magnitude of neonatal asphyxia was 26.4% with [95% CI: 21.8, 30.9].
Primiparous (AOR = 2.63 95%CI 1.47, 4.72), low-birth-weight (AOR = 3.45 95%CI 1.33,
8.91), preterm birth (AOR = 3.58 95%CI 1.29, 9.92), and premature rupture of membranes
(AOR = 5.19 95%CI 2.03, 13.26) were significantly associated with neonatal asphyxia.
Conclusions and recommendations: Based on the finding of this study the magnitude of
neonatal asphyxia was quite high. Among the factors like, parity, birth weight of the
newborn, premature rapture of the membrane, and gestational age at birth were significantly
associated with neonatal asphyxia. Focus should be given to early detecting and preventing
the occurrence of neonatal asphyxia from the complications during pregnancy and during
Labour and delivery.
Key words: Neonatal asphyxia, Newborns, Associated factors, Ethiopia
