Analysis of factors associated with neonatal mortality in Tshopo Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Neonatal mortality is a major public health issue in the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in Tshopo province. Rigorous identification of risk factors is essential if prevention strategies are to be effective. The aim of this study is to examine the maternal, obstetric and neonatal determinants associated with neonatal mortality in this region. It is a retrospective analysis of a sample of 690 newborns, of whom 230 (33.3%) died during the neonatal period. The data were subjected to statistical analysis using the Chi² test and the calculation of odds ratios (OR) with a 95% confidence interval. The threshold for statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Several factors were found to be significantly correlated with neonatal mortality: absence of prenatal consultation (OR=6.35; p<0.001), delivery outside a health facility (OR=2.49; p<0.001), occurrence of obstetric complications (OR=12.0 ; p<0.001), lack of maternal anti-tetanus vaccination (OR=3.57; p<0.001), low birth weight (OR=0.28; p<0.001) and an APGAR score of less than or equal to 7 at five minutes (OR=1.48; p=0.01). On the other hand, maternal socio-demographic variables such as maternal age, level of education or occupation did not show a statistically significant association with neonatal mortality. These results underline the fact that neonatal mortality in Tshopo province is closely linked to the quality of antenatal care provided, delivery conditions and the immediate care of the newborn. It therefore seems imperative to implement targeted interventions aimed at substantially improving health services in these areas in order to reduce this health burden.