Association between Maternal Factors and Birth Weight of Children from a Selected Village of Anand District

Abstract

Birth weight of the child is an important predictor for neonatal and infant mortality and morbidity as well as for the nutritional status of the children. There are numerous factors such as maternal physiological, biological and socioeconomic factors leading to low birth weight. A community based cross sectional study was carried out to study the association between maternal factors and birth weight of the children. About 100 mothers were selected by simple random sampling from a selected village of Anand district. Information regarding birth weight of the child and various maternal factors (education and occupation of mother, age of the mother for the first delivery and spacing between the selected sample child and the previous child) was collected using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire with the help of Anganwadi workers. Children with birth weight less than 2500 gm were considered as low birth weight (LBW), whereas ≥2500 gm were considered as normal birth weight (NBW). Association of the maternal risk factors about was assessed by using the statistical software SPSS Version 20 based on chi-square test (p<0.05). About 17% of the children were found to be LBW while 83% were NBW. No significant association was found between mother’s education, occupation and age of the mother at first delivery with birth weight of the child but spacing between the sample child and the previous child showed significant association with birth weight of the child.

Keywords: Low birth weight, normal birth weight, maternal factors

Cite this Article

Tejashri Trivedi, Patel VH, Rema Subhash. Association between Maternal Factors and Birth Weight of Children from a Selected Village of Anand District. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Health Professions. 2018; 8(Issue 3 Special): 21s-24s.