Predictors of Low Birth Weight in Tigrai Regional State, Northern Ethiopia: Hospital Based Case Control Study

Abstract

Background: Low birth weight is a serious public health crisis to neonatal survival, about 20.6 million such infants born each year and the developing world inhabits 96.5% of them and little is documented about the predictors of low birth weight in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study is intended to identify the determinants of low birth weight in governmental hospitals of Tigrai national state, Ethiopia.

Method: A case-control study was carried out at six selected hospitals in regional state of Tigrai among 104 cases and 208 mothers/neonate pairs. A pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire was employed to collect the necessary data from Jan 17 to March 17, 2015. Data were entered with Epi-info software, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify the predictors at p<0.05 to declare statistical significance. The mothers were interviewed and assessed within six hours of delivery; all babies were weighed on calibrated beam balance immediately after birth.

Result: The mean weight of cases and controls at birth was 2157.69 g and 3196.65 g respectively. After adjusting the variables in the multivariate logistic regression model; maternal age <20 years (AOR=3.22(95%CI=1.22, 8.55), mothers with no education (AOR=3.32(95%CI=2.22, 8.62), history of obstetric complication (AOR=4.89(95%CI=1.57, 15.25), mothers with MUAC<22 cm (AOR=5.22(95%CI=2.25, 12.11), short gestational period (before 37 complete weeks) (AOR=6.99(95%CI=3.35, 14.65) and inter-pregnancy interval less than 24 months (AOR=7.62, 95% CI=2.89, 20.12) were emerged as predictors of low birth weight.

Conclusion: In the current study, low birth weight has been found to be statistically determined by maternal age <20 years, maternal illiteracy, preterm birth (<37 weeks), short inter-pregnancy interval (<24 months), history of obstetric complication and poor maternal nutritional status (MUAC<22 cm). Therefore, due attention should be given to prevent teenage pregnancy, promotion of female education, nutritional counseling, early diagnosis and proper management of obstetric complications and adequacy of inter-pregnancy spacing to halt the burden. This study suggests further longitudinal studies.

Keywords: Predictors, low birth weight, Tigrai regional state, Ethiopia