OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence rate of intracranial hemorrhage in newborns and to detect the size of the relative risk for different characteristics of the background of intrauterine development according to the materials of the Republican Prenatal Center.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study was conducted on the basis of the Republican Prenatal Center of the Azerbaijan Republic. All newborns (996 children) (birth weight — 500 grams or more, gestational age — over 22 completed weeks) have been examined by a neuropathologist. If there were signs of any neurological abnormalities, an ultrasound examination of the brain was performed.

RESULTS

The prevalence rate of intracranial non-traumatic hemorrhage (INTH) among newborns was 15.66% (4.8% among full-term, 48.8% among premature). Depending on mother’s age the prevalence rate of INTH changed from 12.7% (mother’s age 20—24 years) to 23.0% (mother’s age 35 years or more).

CONCLUSION

The risk of INTH statistically significantly increased with maternal age 35 years or more, with 4 or more births, with the birth of a fetus weighing up to 2500 and more than 4000 grams, with a gestational age of less than 37 weeks, with multiple pregnancies and with vaginal delivery.