Maternal risk factors for low birth weight for term births in a developed region in China: a hospital-based study of 55,633 pregnancies

Abstract

Low birth weight (LBW) is an important risk factor for neonatal and infant mortality and morbidity in adults.. However, no large scale study on the prevalence of LBW and related maternal risk factors in China has been published. To explore the effects of maternal factors on LBW for term birth in China, we conducted a hospital-based retrospective study of 55, 633 Chinese pregnancy cases between 2001 and 2008. Maternal sociodemographic data, history of infertility and contraceptive use were obtained. Their medical status and diseases during pre-pregnancy were examined by physical examination at the first antenatal care visit. Maternal medical status before childbirth and pregnancy outcomes, including body weight, infant gender, multiple pregnancy and congenital anomalies, were recorded. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression, and linear regression were used to investigate the relationship between maternal factors and term LBW. The general incidence of term LBW was 1.70% in the developed area of China. After preliminary analysis using the univariate model, low primary education, anemia, hypertensive disorders, placental previa, oligohydramnios and premature rupture of membrane were predicted as independent factors of term LBW in the multivariate model. Furthermore, the decrease in annual frquencies of these risk factors were major causes of gradual decline in the incidence of LBW (from 2.43% in 2001 to 1.21% in 2008). The study demonstrated that among maternal factors, primary education, anemia and hypertensive disorders could contribute to LBW for term birth even in the most developed area of China.

Determinant of Low Birth Weight Infants: A Matched Case Control Study

“…If the hypertension becomes severe, it can lead to preeclampsia or eclampsia which can cause serious injuries or even death to both the mother and child. These results indicated that hypertensive disorders might play a critical role in the incidence of LBW as supported by other studies [17] [19] [28]. Evidence from earlier study showed that reduced placental blood flow leads to decreased fetal growth, with an increased risk of intrauterine growth restriction and low birth weight [29].…”

Air travel during pregnancy and the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes as gestational age and weight at birth: A retrospective study among 284,069 women in Israel between the years 2000 to 2016

“…The main strengths of this study include: (1) the sample size, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the largest ever used, (2) the accurate information obtained on many risk factors that may affect gestational age and birth weight, which provided the ability to conduct appropriate statistical analysis, (3) the consistency of the results when analyses were stratified for gestational age at birth, frequency of air travel, or timing of the flight during pregnancy, (4) some of this study's results reinforce its reliability, by demonstrating well known negative effects on gestational age and birth weight of high-risk pregnancies, pre-eclampsia, smoking during pregnancy and fertility treatments and positive effect on weight at birth in women with GDM [19][20][21][22][23].…”

Relationships Between Infant Birth Weight and Maternal Mastication Ability, Caloric Intake and Prepregnancy Body Mass Index of Women with Posterior Tooth Loss

“…Infant birth weight is one predictor of infant growth and survival [8,10]. In addition, to maternal nutrition, several factors affect the infant birth weight: sex, genetics, race, placental state, maternal age, parity, height, weight before pregnancy and weight gain, socioeconomic status, infection, physical, health services, maternal nutrition, and smoking or alcohol consumption [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”