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The Effect of an Earthquake Experienced During Pregnancy on Maternal Health and Birth Outcomes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2022

Hossein Amarpoor Mesrkanlou ,
Seyed Jamal Ghaemmaghami Hezaveh ,
Sanaz Tahmasebi ,
Zeinab Nikniaz  and
Leila Nikniaz Open the ORCID record for Leila Nikniaz [Opens in a new window]
Hossein Amarpoor Mesrkanlou
Affiliation:
Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Seyed Jamal Ghaemmaghami Hezaveh
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry and Diet Therapy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Sanaz Tahmasebi
Affiliation:
Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Zeinab Nikniaz
Affiliation:
Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Leila Nikniaz*
Affiliation:
Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
*
Corresponding author: Leila Nikniaz, Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Objective:

Maternal health in pregnancy and birth outcomes were compared between pre- and post-Varzaghan earthquake.

Methods:

In this retrospective descriptive study, before and after the earthquake, 550 and 450 women were enrolled respectively. Neonatal weight, height, and head circumference, as well as maternal weight gain and hemoglobin (Hb) levels were obtained using medical records at health centers. Chi-square test and Independent t-test were used to analyze differences in pregnancy outcomes. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Results:

A significant increase in inadequate gestational weight gain (44.1% vs 58.9%) was observed (P = 0.043) before and after the earthquake. The mean hemoglobin level in the first trimester before the earthquake was significantly higher than after the earthquake (P = 0.001). Before–after earthquake comparisons showed that the mean birth weight, birth height, and birth head circumference were decreased significantly (P < 0.05). In addition, the rates of preterm birth (18.91% vs 10.90%), abortion (17.11% vs 10.54%), and stillbirth (3.78% vs 1.82%) were increased significantly after the earthquake (P < 0.05).

Conclusions:

Earthquake causes inadequate gestational weight gain and decreased hemoglobin levels, which lead to adverse birth outcomes. More longitudinal and well-designed studies are desired to investigate the longitudinal consequences of disasters on susceptible groups.

Keywords

earthquakehemoglobinpregnant womenpreterm birthweight gain
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e157
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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