The effect of maternal pregnancy body mass index as a measure of pregnancy weight gain on neonatal birth weight in Maiduguri metropolitan council of Borno state, Nigeria

Aim: The effect of maternal pregnancy body mass index as a measure of pregnancy weight gain on neonatal birth weight outcome in the labor ward of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. Methods: One hundred and four mother-neonatal pairs were selected using systematic random sampling method. Maternal pregnancy body mass index was calculated from maternal weight and height using the formula maternal body weight divided by the square of maternal height in kilogram/meter square (kg/m2), and neonatal birth weight was assessed using the bassinet weighing scale. Chi-square test of association was used to investigate the effect of maternal pregnancy BMI on neonatal birth weights. Results: There were 55 (52.9 %) males and 49 (47.1 %) females. The male to female ratio is 1.1:1. The mean (SD) neonatal birth weight was 3.02 (0.58), 95 CI (2.91 - 3.14), whereas the mean (SD) maternal pregnancy body mass index was 23.69 (4.33), 95 CI (22.84 - 24.53). Association between neonatal birth weight and maternal body mass index was not significant (χ2 = 0.974, p = 0.614) in this study. Conclusion: Our work has demonstrated that maternal pregnancy BMI may not contribute significantly to birth weight outcome of neonates. However, further research in this regard is hereby recommended