Prevalence and Determinants of Small Size Babies in Ethiopia: Resultsfrom in-depth Analyses of the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey -2011

Background: Low birth weight babies account for nearly 80% of neonataldeaths. In Ethiopia, only 5% of children are weighed which requires alternative measures of Low Birth Weight. This study analyzes the prevalence and determinant factors of infants’ size at birth from Ethiopian demographic and health survey data set. Methods: In-depth analysis of the Survey data set was conducted using representative data collected from all regions in the country. Considering reported fetal size at birth as an outcome variable, key predicting variables from socio-demographic, household, child and maternal reproductive as well as obstetric and behavioral characteristics were employed for analyses. Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression model were used to determine predictors at p value < 0.05. Results: An average of 30.3% of Ethiopian babies were reported as small at birth by moms and a non-linear but declining trend was observed during the study periods. Several socio-demographic, household, child and maternal reproductive characteristics were identified as key predictors of small size babies at birth. Women who develop anemia and not attending antenatal care duringpregnancy, had a 15% and 41% added risk of having small size babies than their counterparts (AoR = 1.15, and 1.41, 95% CI (1.02, 1.64 and 1.06, 1.88) respectively. Maternal age at delivery, maternal literacy level, paternal educational status and presence of radio or television in the household and others were also identified as key predictors of small size babies in Ethiopia. Conclusions and recommendations: The prevalence of small size babies in Ethiopia is high but comparable to regional estimates. It is recommend that improving maternal nutritional and socio-economic status is a timely intervention to tackle the entire problem.