Author(s)

Florent Ymele Fouelifack^1,2,3*, Felicite Nguefack⁴, Patricia Bashir Kadidja³, Roosvelt Dongmo Tiodjou⁵, Jeanne Hortence Fouedjio⁵, Pascal Foumane⁵

¹Higher Institute of Medical Technology of Nkolondom, Yaounde, Cameroon.
²Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit of Yaounde Central Hospital, Yaounde, Cameroon.
³Associative Group for Research, Education and Health La Falaise “GARES-Falaise”, Dschang, Cameroon.
⁴Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit of the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetrics and Pediatric Hospital, Yaounde, Cameroon.
⁵Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon.

Introduction: Twin birth is the expulsion of two fetuses and their appendages out of the woman’s reproductive tract. It’s a high-risk delivery because of the high frequency of maternal, fetal and neonatal complications. Few studies exist on the comparative prognoses of twins. Our objective was to compare early neonatal complications in first and second twins. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional prospective study from January 2 to April 30, 2020 (4 months) at the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital, and the Yaounde Central Hospital. Data collected were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics were done in frequencies and percentages, means and standard deviations. Paired-sample student's t-test were used to compare means. McNemar’s Chi-square and Ficher’s exact tests were used to compare proportions. Statistical significance was set at p-values less than 0.05. Results: Of a total of 2183 deliveries during the study period, 43 (1.96%) were twin vaginal deliveries. Among the 43 women, 41 consented to have their newborns participate in the study. Overall, APGAR scores were better for the first twins at the first (p = 0.004) and fifth (p = 0.031) minutes than for the second twins. Although both twins had complications and that there were 4 neonatal deads of the second twin, there was no relationship between studied complications and the rank of the twin (p = 0.310). Conclusion: As the APGAR score seemed to be better for first twins, clinicians should pay more attention during twin births, in order to improve the prognosis of the second twin.

Comparison, Vaginal Birth, Rank of Twin, Early Neonatal, Complications

Fouelifack, F. , Nguefack, F. , Kadidja, P. , Tiodjou, R. , Fouedjio, J. and Foumane, P. (2024) Comparative Study of Early Neonatal Complications between the First and Second Twin during Twin Vaginal Deliveries at the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital, and the Yaounde Central Hospital. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 14, 381-392. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2024.143035.