Behnaz Basiri - Neonatologist, Associated Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Hamadan, Iran.
Mohammad Kazem Sabzehei - Neonatologist, Associated Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Hamadan, Iran.
Maryam Shokouhi - Neonatologist, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Hamadan, Iran.
Mohammad Mahdi Sabahi - Student Research committee, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.

Background and Objective: The incidence of multiple pregnancy in the industrialized countries due to the use of assisted reproductive technologies has increased over the past two decades. Multiple births are more dangerous than single pregnancies for mother and baby. This study aimed to compare the short outcome of multiple pregnancies. Material and Methods: In a cross-sectional study with the census method sampling we assessed all multiple neonates hospitalized in Fatemieh hospital of Hamadan, Iran from September 2016 to September 2017 in terms of: gender, gestational age, birth weight, the use of Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART), delivery method, cause of hospitalization, therapeutic intervention and hospitalization outcome. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS16 software. Findings: Of 10581 deliveries during the study period, 351(3/3%) was multiple pregnancy and 232 neonates hospitalized. The incidence of Twin, Triplet and Quadruplet birth were 2/8%, 0.38% and 0/11% respectively. In this study, 179 twin and 53 Triplet and Quadruplet birth were compared. The mean gestational age and mean birth weight of Triplet and Quadruplet were lower than that of twin births (P<0/05). The frequency of very low birth weight were 30%, 47/1% among the twins, and tripletsand Quadruplet, respectively(P<0/05).A significant difference was found on the frequency of in vitro fertilization (IVF) method, rate of cesarean section and preterm delivery (P<0/05). Female sex, lower mean gestational age, lower mean birth weight and need to mechanical ventilation were significantly associated with early neonatal death in multiple pregnancy (P<0/05). Conclusion: The incidence of multiple births is high in Hamadan province, which is often followed by infertility treatment. And multiple births cause prematurity, low birth weight, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and increased neonatal mortality rate

Multiple pregnancy, Incidence, Short outcome