Risk Factors for Low Birth Weight Babies in Women Delivered in a Tertiarry Referral Hospital

Background: Low birth weight is an important indicator of reproductive health and general health status of population. LBW is considered as the single most important predictor of infant mortality, especially of deaths within the first month of life. It is also a significant determinant of infant and childhood morbidity, particularly of neurodevelopmental impairments such as mental retardation and learning disabilities. This study aimed to determine the risk factors associated with low birth weight. Material & Methods: It was a prospective cross sectional observational study carried out in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, during the period of January 2012 to June 2012. Total 308 samples were included in this study. All women ≥28 weeks of pregnancy who delivered a LBW baby during six months of study period were selected. The database was processed by the application of statistical package SPSS for windows version 24. Results: This study shows most frequent maternal age group was 20-25 years. The mean maternal age was 23.86±4.82 years. Fifty three percent (53%)were female and 46.76% were male babies. Low birth weight was associated with inadequate Antental care, pre-delivery weight <55 kg, height <145 cm, low socio-economic status, and anemia. ln LBW babies’ mother having regular antenatal care (23.8%\. The incidence of mild anemia was 10.71 o/o, moderate anemia 32.79% and there were 2.60% cases of severe anemia. Maternal factors including maternal height (27.92%), maternal weight (36.36%), anaemia (43.50%), placenta praevia (12.18%), eclampsia (20.29%), PROM (24.35%), preterm labour (15.42%), severe PET (8.12%), twin pregnancy (17.86%), heart disease (2.44%) and DM (1.620/o) were associated with low birth weight. 62.01% mothers had average food intake, 37.99o/o had poor food intake. Conclusion: The incidence of low birth weight is 19.05%. Maternal height, maternal weight, ANC, anemia, eclampsia, preeclampsia, PROM, preterm labor, sever PET, twin pregnancy and heart disease were associated with low birth weight. There is a need for national prospective research project to study the low birth weight problem at the national level. There is also a need to discourage teenage pregnancies and to encourage utilization of mother and child health services, and treat concomitant illnesses during pregnancy. Maternal malnutrition, inadequate antenatal care and poor weight gain during pregnancy are significant predictors for delivery of a low birth weight neonate.