Effect of Maternal Nutritional Status, Socioeconomic Class and Literacy Level on Birth Weight of Babies

Introduction: The prevalence of Low Birth Weight (LBW) is higher in Asia than elsewhere predominantly because of undernutrition and poor socioeconomic status of mothers. Nearly half of the pregnant women still suffer from varying degrees of anaemia with the highest prevalence in India. Optimal weight gain during pregnancy and a desirable foetal outcome in terms of normal birth weight of the baby may be a result of synergistic effect of literacy, knowledge, improved food intake, and higher level of socioeconomic status of the pregnant women and their family. Aim: To observe the influence of maternal nutritional, socioeconomic status and literacy level on birth weight of babies. Materials and Methods: Total 250 mothers who delivered babies and admitted to the post natal ward of B.S.T. Rural Hospital, Talegaon Dabhade, District Pune, Maharashtra, India, were randomly selected and the relevant information was recorded in self prepared and pre validated questionnaire. Dietary history was collected by 24 hours recall method. Results: A total of 250 mothers and their babies were included. The average birth weight of babies was 2.65 Kg with the lowest birth weight of 1.2 Kg while the highest birth weight of 4 Kg. The prevalence of LBW babies was 27.6%. Most of the women (77.2%) had caloric intake less than 1800 Kcal, 80% of mothers had protein intake of less than 45 gm. Nearly, 31.60% of women who were taking daily intake of calories less than 1800 Kcal delivered LBW babies. About 30.50% of the women with protein intake less than 45 gm/ day delivered LBW babies. In all 34.86% of the women with hemoglobin level below 11 gm% delivered LBW babies. These findings were statistically significant. Conclusion: Maternal caloric and protein deficiencies including anaemia during pregnancy had direct effect on the birth weight of newborns, as less nourished mothers were found to deliver higher percentage of LBW babies as compared to the mothers who were better nourished. Mother’s educational level and socioeconomic class also had influence on the birth weight of babies