Evaluation of the risk factors associated with low birth weight babies: a case control study

Background: Birth weight is one of the most important determinants of the chance of the newborn to survive & to experience healthy growth & development. So the present case control study was done to find some risk factors associated with low birth weight (LBW) among women delivering at VIMS Pawapuri in Bihar, India. Aim: to evaluate the risk factors associated with low birth weight babies at VIMS Pawapuri in Bihar, India. Material and methods: This case control study was done the Department of Paediatrics, Vardhman Institute of Medical Science, Pawapuri, Nalanda,Bihar, India, for 15 months. Total 100 cases (mothers having LBW singleton babies) and 100 controls (mothers having normal birth weight singleton babies) were include in this study. Results: A total of 50 case and 50 matched controls were studied. The maternal risk factors which were found to be significantly associated with LBW. The risk from various maternal factors as determined by Odds Ratio (OR) and Attributable Risk Proportion (ARP) in order of decreasing order was unfavourable outcome of previous pregnancy (OR=2.47), place of residence (rural) (OR=2.15), height <145 cms (OR=1.193), weight <40 kgs (OR=1.89), birth interval of <24 months (OR=1.82), WHPI d”100 (OR=1.82), Hb level <11 gram% (OR=1.64), BMI <18.5 kg/m2 (OR=1.55) and presence of any morbid condition during current pregnancy (OR=1.41). The distribution of various maternal risk factors which were found to be significantly associated with LBW by using Multiple Logistic Regression (MLR) Analysis. After MLR only 3 maternal factors i.e. place of residence (rural) (AOR=2.27), unfavourable outcome of previous pregnancy (AOR=1.96) and presence of any morbid condition during current pregnancy (AOR=1.63) were observed to be significant risk factors when adjusted for all other risk factors. Mother’s education, occupation, socio-economic status, physical activity during pregnancy (light, moderate & hard), sleep & rest duration, age at marriage, tobacco consumption, time of registration of pregnancy, number of ANC visits, tetanus toxoid immunization, days of iron, folic acid & calcium supplementations all were found to be not significantly associated with low birth weight. Conclusion: This study shows that bio-demographic and prenatal care variables have the strongest influence in determining the birth weight of a baby. However, Socio-economic and demographic factors are significantly associated with prenatal care, which is one of the behavioral factors associated with low birth weigh