Maternal and fetal outcomes of triplet gestation in a tertiary hospital in oman.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to describe the fetal and maternal outcomes of triplet gestation and to report on the maternal characteristics of those pregnancies in a tertiary care centre in Oman.

METHODS

A retrospective study was undertaken of all triplet pregnancies delivered at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, between January 2009 and December 2011.

RESULTS

Over the three-year study period, there were 9,140 deliveries. Of these, there were 18 triplet pregnancies, giving a frequency of 0.2%. The mean gestational age at delivery was 31.0 ± 3.0 weeks, and the mean birth weight was 1,594 ± 460 g. The most common maternal complications were preterm labour in 13 pregnancies (72.2%), gestational diabetes in 7 (39%) and gestational hypertension in 5 (28%). Of the total deliveries, there were 54 neonates. Neonatal complications among these included hyaline membrane disease in 25 neonates (46%), hyperbilirubinaemia in 24 (43%), sepsis in 18 (33%) and anaemia in 8 (15%). The perinatal mortality rate was 55 per 1,000 births.

CONCLUSION

The maternal and neonatal outcomes of triplet pregnancies were similar to those reported in other studies.