article · BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
A case-control study conducted in Bale zone hospitals in South-East Ethiopia investigated the primary risk factors contributing to low birth weight. Examining mothers of full-term, singleton deliveries without diabetes or hypertension, the study identified several significant socioeconomic, maternal, and environmental contributors. Socioeconomic risks included maternal age under 20 years, very low monthly income, lack of formal education, and rural residence. Maternal physiological and behavioural factors linked to low birth weight included low body mass index under 18 kg/m2, maternal height under 1.5 metres, pregnancy intervals of less than two years, lack of antenatal care, medical complications during pregnancy, and khat chewing. Environmental factors, including cooking with firewood or kerosene, lacking a separate kitchen, and washing hands with water only, were also strongly associated with lower birth weights. The findings highlight the need for improved maternal awareness and practices during pregnancy.
Low birth weight is directly associated with infant mortality, impaired physical and cognitive growth, and long-term chronic health conditions. Identifying specific local risk factors helps public health providers, maternal care programmes, and policymakers design targeted prenatal interventions, improve health education, and address environmental conditions that adversely affect pregnant mothers and their newborns.
The abstract does not indicate an application pathway, as it focuses strictly on epidemiological risk factors without proposing or testing specific commercial products, services, or interventions.
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BACKGROUND: Low birth weight (LBW) is closely associated with foetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, inhibite growth and cognitive development and resulted chronic diseases later in life. Many factors affect foetal growth and thus, the birth weight. These factors operate to various extents in different environments and cultures. The prevalence of low birth weight in the study area is the highest in the country. To the investigator's knowledge in Bale Zone, no study has yet been done to elucidate the risk factors for low birth weight using case control study design. This study was aimed to identify the risk factors of low birth weight in Bale zone hospitals. METHODS: A case-control study design was applied from April 1st to August 30th, 2013. A total of 387 mothers (136 cases and 272 controls) were interviewed using structured and pretested questionnaire by trained data collectors working in delivery ward. For each case, two consecutive controls were included in the study. All cases and controls were mothers with singleton birth, full term babies, no diabetes mellitus and no hypertensive. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 statistical package. The association between the independent variables and dependent variable (birth weight) was evaluated through bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses. RESULT: Maternal age at delivery <20 years (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.65-5.73), monthly income <26 United States Dollarr (USD) (AOR = 3.8; 95% CI = 1.54-9.41), lack of formal education (AOR = 6; 95% CI = 1.34-26.90), being merchant (AOR = 0.1; 95%CI = 0.02-0.52) and residing in rural area (AOR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.04-4.33) were socio-economic variables associated with low birth weight. Maternal risk factors like occurrence of health problems during pregnancy (AOR = 6.3; 95% CI = 2.75-14.48), maternal body mass index <18 kg/m2 (AOR = 6.7; 95% CI = 1.21-37.14), maternal height <1.5m (AOR = 3.7; 95% CI = 1.22-11.28), inter-pregnancy interval <2 years (AOR = 3; 95% CI = 1.58-6.31], absence of antenatal care (OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 1.23-6.94) and history of khat chewing (AOR = 6.4; 95% CI = 2.42-17.10) and environmental factors such as using firewood for cooking (AOR = 2.7; 95% CI = 1.01-7.17), using kerosene for cooking (AOR = 8.9; 95% CI = 2.54-31.11), wash hands with water only (AOR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.30-3.90) and not having separate kitchen room (AOR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.36-4.85) were associated with low birth weight. CONCLUSION: Women who residing in rural area, faced health problems during current pregnancy, had no antenatal care follow-up and use firewood as energy source were found to be more likely to give low birth weight babies. Improving a mother's awareness and practice for a healthy pregnancy needs to be emphasized to reverse LBW related problems.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12884-015-0677-y
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