Attendance of newborns in pediatric medical emergency: is it justified and what are the reasons behind it?

Introduction: The use of pediatric medical emergency services is becoming important with an increasing newborns flow, which exposes them to a major infectious risk, particularly during the epidemic.
We aimed to determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and to identify the factors associated with the use of pediatric medical emergencies by newborns.
Materials & Methods: A six-month prospective, cross-sectional observational study carried out at the Pediatric Medical Emergency Department at the children’s hospital of Rabat.
656 newborns were enrolled in the study where we included in our study any newborn of age equal to or less than 28 days consulting directly or referred by a health professional. An operating report has been produced informing the following variables: For newborns: age, sex, term, birth weight, type of breastfeeding, pattern and time of consultation after onset of symptoms, admission times, mode of recourse and evolution. For mothers: age, the course of the pregnancy, the mode of delivery, length of stay in hospital after delivery, consanguinity, parity, school level and childbirth residence.
Results: We conclude in our research that 92% came from the serving area, 58.3% were younger than 14 days, and premature infants accounted for 9.6% of the cases. Furthermore, the sex ratio was equal to 1.1 (343 boys), the average birth weight was 3.034 Kg. The reasons for consultation were dominated by jaundice, digestive signs, fever and respiratory distress. The evolution was marked by the outpatient care of 50% of newborns against 50% of hospitalization. Otherwise, the average age of mothers was 27 years, 49% were primiparous and 86.6% were urban. Pregnancy was followed in 76.5% of cases and delivery was performed in a medical setting at 97.1%. The delivery route was low in 88% of cases and high in 12% of cases. 16.8% of mothers have stayed less than 24 hours after childbirth.
Conclusion: The study showed a high rate of non-urgent consultation by often young, primiparous mothers, reflecting parental anxiety. This is compounded by the shortening of hospital stay and the lack of counseling for maternity. This current trend requires a set of measures, such as the development of the activities of childcare workers, the strengthening of advice and information provided to young mothers, welcoming young parents and creating circuits dedicated to newborns.