Determinants of birth weight: A retrospective study

OBJECTIVE: The importance of antenatal care (ANC) for improving perinatal outcomes is well established. Utilization of antenatal services has been shown to be an important factor, affecting outcome of pregnancies. The study aims to identify and quantify determinants of low birth weight (LBW) by following a hospital based retrospective of pregnant women in Yozgat province. The unadjusted relative risks for LBW were significantly higher for lower socio-economic status, maternal age less than 20 years, primiparity, last pregnancy interval less than 2 years, non-antenatal care and hemoglobin less than 9 g/dl.
In Turkey, 81 percent of the mothers had at least one ANC visit from trained health personnel during the pregnancy of their recent birth. Besides, 11 percent of the births are less than 2.5 kilograms, the cut-off point below which a baby is considered to be low birth weight.

 

 DESIGN: The relationship between low birth weight and quality of antenatal care, the place that antenatal appointments is taken was examined in a sample area in the middle of Anatolia and if so, to identify the cut-offs providing the best prediction of low birth weight (LBW) in a field situation. We analyzed the responses from 3 perspectives: (1) demographics and health status, (2) number of antenatal care visits, and (3) components of the antenatal care.

This cross-sectional retrospective study, employed in hospitals in Yozgat, examined number of antenatal appointments, components of the antenatal care (baby heart rates or USG, pregnancies weight, blood pressure, urine tests, blood tests, TT, give information) and satisfaction with prenatal care.