Mortality and Morbidity in Babies with Gastroschisis Delivered by Normal Vaginal Delivery Versus Cesarean Section in Iraq

Background: Gastroschisis is an abdominal wall birth defect. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare mortality and morbidity in neonates with gastroschisis delivered by normal vaginal delivery (NVD) and cesarean section (CS). Methodology: A Comparative study was conducted between 37 neonates with gastroschisis, among which 15 were delivered by NVD and 22 by CS in different hospitals in Iraq. Our studies were quantified and recruited clinical patient outcomes like neonatal mortality and morbidity. Results: Death in the neonatal period was significantly low in the CS group (4.5% vs. 20.0%, p=0.038). The CS group also had a lower rate of preterm delivery (40.9% vs. 73.3%), higher mean APGAR at 1 and 5 minutes, lower rate of low birth weight (36.4% vs. 66.7%), and significantly lower mean length of NICU stay (26.7 vs. 41.2 days, p<0.05). Morbidities like sepsis (13.6% vs. 40.0%) and total infection (18.2% vs. 46.7%) happened less frequently in the CS group. By 12-month follow-up, the CS group also scored significantly higher on all ITQOL quality-of-life questionnaire sections. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that cesarean section delivery is associated with significantly reduced mortality and morbidity and improved quality of life in infants with gastroschisis compared with vaginal delivery.