FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objectives: Low birth weight (LBW) is a challenging multifaceted public health problem due to its association with increased risk of morbidity and mortality of infants. Both community and institution-based studies are needed to find out the lacunae regarding the occurrence of LBW babies so that effective strategies which are relevant to the local conditions can be adopted for its prevention. We conducted this study to estimate the prevalence and determine the factors associated with LBW in the live-born infants delivered in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: This was an observational and cross-sectional questionnaire-based study done in the Department of Pharmacology and Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in this tertiary care hospital. Mothers who gave birth to their baby in the Obstetrics Ward were included in the study. The subjects underwent a face-to-face interview using a suitably designed and validated questionnaire and the data were collected. Results: A total of 360 subjects were interviewed. About 34.7% of mothers were below 20 years of age. The majority of the mothers had education up to secondary level (58.33%) and were housewife (82.22%). About 58.2% of mothers belonged to a family size of 5–10 members. Among the 104 LBW infants, 63.46% were small for date and 36.54% were pre-term. The mean weight of the newborn was 2.54 kg. Maternal age, number of family members, number of anti-natal care visits, anemia and maternal weight gain during pregnancy were associated with LBW (p<0.05). No significant differences were found among the newborns with and without LBW regarding variables such as religion, family type, maternal addiction, previous abortion, and tetanus toxoid taken by the mother. Conclusion: As LBW is the major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, every step should be taken for its prevention. In this regard, proper maternal education for antenatal care and regular visits to antenatal care clinics should be done. Field workers may help to impart correct knowledge of diet through proper health education besides providing other advices such as delaying the age of the first child, birth spacing, and family planning services utilization