Determinants of Low Birth Weight among Newborns Delivered at Public Hospitals in Sidama Zone, South Ethiopia: Unmatched Case-Control Study

Abstract

Low birth weight is a global public health problem having various severe and life-threatening health effects. The World Health Organization is working to reduce the prevalence of low birth weight to 30% by the year 2025. Pinpointing the determinants of low birth weight at different scenarios is crucial to reduce the rate of low birth weight in low-income countries which consist of 96.5% of global low birth weight newborns. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess determinants of low birth weight in Sidama Zone public hospitals of South Ethiopia. An institution-based case-control study was conducted from March 1 to May 5, 2019, in Sidama Zone public hospitals. Data were collected from 354 mother-neonate samples with 118 of them having newborns with birth weight<2500 g (cases) and 236 of them having birth weight≥2500 g (controls) using a pretested, interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and medical record review. The odds of being rural dweller women was 3.51 times higher among cases (low birth weight babies) than among controls (normal birth weight babies) as compared to being urban dweller women (AOR=3.51, 95% CI (1.91-6.45)). The likelihood of initiating antenatal care late was 3.22 times more among cases than among controls when compared with timely initiation of antenatal care (AOR=3.22, 95% CI (1.47-7.14)). The probability of having pregnancy-induced hypertension was 4.49 times higher among mothers of the cases than among mothers of the controls as compared to not having pregnancy-induced hypertension (AOR=4.49, 95% CI (1.94-10.38)). The odds of not taking iron and folic acid during pregnancy was 3.92 times higher among mothers of the cases than mothers of the controls when compared with taking iron and folic acid (AOR=3.92, 95% CI (1.80-8.50)). The likelihood of having Mid-Upper Arm Circumference MUAC<23 cm was 4.27 times higher among mothers of the cases than among mothers of the controls as compared to having MUAC≥23 cm (AOR=4.27, 95% CI (2.24-8.12)). The probability of having inadequate dietary diversity was 3.75 times higher among cases than among controls as compared to having adequate dietary diversity (AOR=3.75, 95% CI (1.64-8.57)). Interventions targeting the aversion of low birth weight should focus on promotion of iron-folic acid supplementation and dietary diversification through timely initiation of antenatal care.

The impact of pregnancy induced hypertension on low birth weight in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Based on our inclusion criteria, only 25 articles were included and considered for final analysis. From those included studies, eight articles were done in Amhara region [20,32,33,[39][40][41][42][43], seven in SNNP [31,[44][45][46][47][48][49], four articles in AA [50][51][52][53] and Oromo [25,[54][55][56] for each and one article in Tigray [57] and Ethiopian Somalia region [58] for each. Concerning to publication, one study was un-published (grey literature) [40] whereas the remaining 24 articles were published from 2005 to 2020 in different journals [20, 25, 31-33, 39, 41-50, 52, 53, 55-58].…”

“…Concerning to publication, one study was un-published (grey literature) [40] whereas the remaining 24 articles were published from 2005 to 2020 in different journals [20, 25, 31-33, 39, 41-50, 52, 53, 55-58]. Regarding to study design, 15 articles were employed cross sectional [20, 25, 31, 39, 41-43, 47-51, 53-56] while the five studies were done using cohort [33,45,50,57,58] and case control design [32,40,44,46,52] for each studies scored five and above out of settled criteria for each study design according to JBI critical appraisal were included for this systematic review and meta analysis ( Table 1).…”

Socioeconomic Disparities of Low Birth Weight in Rural Indonesia

“…In general, the health status of people living in rural areas is often lower than those in urban areas, including access to health service facilities, both for basic and referral services 17,18 . Previous research in Italy and Ethiopia informed that mothers living in rural areas have a higher likelihood of giving birth to LBW babies [19][20][21] . Neighborhood socioeconomic status, wealth index, toilet types, and sources of drinking water were the most significant contributors to prorural inequalities in malnutrition 22 .…”

Folate Deficiency in Early Pregnancy Increases the Risk of Low Birth Weight: Survey of Neonates in Eastern China

“…According to epidemiological observations, LBW along with PTB remains the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. Despite intervention efforts, the rate of LBW newborns remained high and varies across regions within countries(22-30), 9.8% in USA and 13-17.3% in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia (30)(31)(32). This study was conducted in eastern China where owned several Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospitals.…”