Maternal Risk Factors Associated with Low Birth Weight

Abstract

Background and purpose:Since a large proportion of fetal mortality is associated with low birth weight (LBW) and considering the fact that fetal development is a vulnerable process influenced by maternal risk factors, this study examined some maternal risk factors associated with LBW infants. Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted based on the medical records of 250 infants born in Zeynabeieh Hospital. The required data were registered in a pre-developed checklist. Then, the collected data were analyzed by Chi-square in SPSS Software using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The mean weight of the sample was 3.2 ± 0.25 (1.5-4.7) kg. About 18% of the infants had birth weight of 2500 g or less. The most frequent educational level among the mothers was illiteracy and elementary education (60%), and the least was secondary education (9.2%). There was found a significant correlation between the mothers' education and low birth weight (P < 0.001). Regarding the association between the mothers' age and low birth weight, 18-to 35-year-old mothers comprised the highest number of mothers (75%), and upper 35-year-old mothers did the lowest (11.2%). Based on chi-square test, a significant correlation was observed between the mothers' ages and low birth weight (p<0.001). In addition, concerning the occupation of mother and low birth weight, there was documented a significant correlation between their occupation and low birth weight (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Maternal biosocial, medical, and obstetric factors have strong association with LBW. To overcome this problem, special attention is required so as to strengthen the mother and child healthcare services in the community.

Risk factors associated with low birth weight

“…A higher level of maternal education may be associated with more healthy behaviours and better nutrition, which may lead to improvement in infant birth weight (12). Likewise, this was observed by some authors such as Hidalgo-Lopezosa et al ( 5), Jafari et al (27) or Tamura et al (28), who concluded that a high level of parental education acts as a protective factor for newborns that were small for their gestational age.…”

“…The birth weight of an infant is the first weight recorded after birth, ideally measured within the first hours after birth, before significant postnatal weight loss occurs (9,10). Low birth weight has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as weight at birth of less than 2,500 grams (up to and including 2,499 g), irrespective of the gestation age (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). Low birth weight is further categorized into very low birth weight (<1,500 g) and extremely low birth weight (<1,000 g) (15,17).…”

“…Low birth weight is a valuable public health indicator of maternal health, nutrition, healthcare delivery, and poverty. LBW is related not only to basic maternal characteristics during prepregnancy, but also to potential risk factors during pregnancy, including maternal age, educational attainment, lifestyle, health status, and diseases, of which maternal age, educational attainment, and marital status are more closely associated with LBW (12,21).…”

Risk Factors and Outcomes of Low Birth Weight Neonates Admitted In a Tertiary Care Center

“…59% of mothers had inadequate ANC visits whereas 38% had adequate visits which is comparable to other studies. 9,10,11 High number of inadequate ANC visits in the present study could be because of unavailability of easy access to proper health facilities in this part of the country. Most common complication in LBW neonates was neonatal sepsis (96%) followed by neonatal jaundice (87%), hypoglycemia (41%), apnea (17%), hypothermia (15%), birth asphyxia (13%), respiratory distress syndrome (12%), seizures (6%), pulmonary hemorrhage (3%), anemia (3%) and others (6% 20 In another study by Bhatnagar PK common causes of mortality were asphyxia neonatorum (40.18%), neonatal jaundice (39.26%), neonatal infections (15.88%), gastroenteritis (4.68%).…”