Maternal Socio-Demographic Factors Associated with Low Birth Weight in Western Region of Uganda

Abstract

Background: Low Birth Weight is a term used to describe babies born weighing less than 2,500g regardless of gestational age (WHO, 1992). The average newborn weighs about 3500g. Babies of Low Birth Weight are at increased risk of complications and health problems soon after birth. It is difficult for these babies to eat, gain weight and fight infection. The main objective of the study is to investigate the maternal socio-demographic factors associated with low birth weight in western region of Uganda. Data analysis and results: All the data was analyzed using stata package (version 15.0). Analysis of data was done at the univariate, bivariate and multivariate levels, Logistic regression analysis which was conducted to estimate the magnitudes of association between the selected socio-demographic variables and main outcome variable (LBW). This study used Uganda Demographic and Health Survey data. This study focused on 14895 women aged 12-49 years from western region of Uganda. The dependent variable was low birth weight. The independent variables were maternal age at first pregnancy, wealth index, body mass index, education background, place of residence, marital status, History of abortion, maternal occupation, antenatal attainment and maternal desire for more children. Results: 9.26% of births reported low birth weight in babies. Results indicated that education, wealth index, place of residence, and occupation of a woman were significantly associated with low birth weight. The major maternal socio-demographic factors associated with low birth weight among babies in western region Uganda are Education level of a woman (OR=2.4, p-value= 0.027) marital status of a woman (OR=0.5, p-value=0.023), antenatal care attainment (OR=1.34, p-value=0.014) and woman’s desire for more children (OR=5.4, p-value= 0.049) in which all these were significantly associated to the LBW in multivariate analysis. Community-based health promotion activities on maternal nutrition during pregnancy, antenatal follow-up, prevention, and early treatment of pregnancy induced hypertension are needed to reduce the high burden of LBW in western region of Uganda. A further in-depth investigation is recommended to identify the major gaps to be addressed in the prevention of low birth weight among babies