Exploring determinants of birth weight of the baby delivered in a tertiary hospital of Delhi

Abstract

Introduction: Low birth weight (LBW) is a global public health challenge. In India, the prevalence is 22%. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the major determinants of birth weight of the newborns delivered in a tertiary hospital of Delhi. Methodology: A total of 140 newborns were included in the study. The newborns were selected from the ICU. Results: There were 80 male and 60 female newborns. In the current study, 68% of the newborns were LBW, 5% were very LBW, and <1% extremely LBW. All the individual variables with a significant effect on birth weight (p<0.10) were analyzed together using multivariate analysis for combined effect on birth weight. Among all, mainly parity, pre-pregnancy weight, hemoglobin of mother, exposure
to smoking tobacco, and residence (p<0.05) were found to be significantly associated with the birth weight of the newborn. Conclusion: Most of the data were concurrent with the previous study results along with no effect of supplementation programs such as the Integrated Child Development Service Scheme or conditional maternity benefit schemes on improving birth weight. More detailed community-based research with bigger sample size needs to be done to develop a clear understanding of some of these unaddressed or partially addressed determinants.