A STUDY OF MATERNAL FACTORS AND BIRTH WEIGHT IN A BORDER DISTRICT OF UTTAR PRADESH

Background: Low birth weight is defined as the live births with less than 2.5 kg weight. LBW is one of the serious challenges in maternal and child health in both developed and developing countries. Objective: (1) To study the proportion of low birth weight neonates among hospital based deliveries. (2) To evaluate selected maternal factors associated with low birth weight in institutionally delivered newborn. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out in S.N. Hospital, Agra from 1st September, 2007 to 31st August, 2009 from medical record section of Obstetrics & Gynaecology department. Mode of delivery, birth weight and sex of baby, age of mother, parity, gestational period were taken as variables. Statistical analysis used: Chi-square test was applied to observe the significance of association. Results: Proportion of LBW was found to be 38% and was higher in teenage pregnancy, in Muslim females, in high parity and among newborn females. Conclusion: Relationship of birth weight with sex of new born, birth order of new born, mode of delivery, gestational period and with parity of mother was found to be significant.