Birth weight pattern and factors affecting birth weight in urban areas of South-Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract: A community-based cross-sectional study of birth-weight was carried out in 30 villages of Jimma Zone, to determine the pattern of birth weight, its relationship with ante-natal care, and the influencing factors in birth-weight. A total of 537 mother-newborn pairs were included in the study revealing an overall low birth weight rate of 10.6%. About 72% of the mothers were booked for ante-natal care during the current pregnancy, and 332 (86%) of the deliveries were attended by trained personnel, including trained traditional birth attendants. Mean birth-weight for both sexes was 3,202 grams; and there was no statistically significant difference between the sexes (P>0.05). Higher mean birth weight was observed for newborns whose mothers attended ante-natal clinic and whose births were attended by trained personnel than those mothers without ante-natal care and unattended by trained personnel (P<0.05). Low birth weight was associated with being single, poor, without ante-natal care and not attended by trained personnel during delivery. Efforts to increase the utilization of ante-natal care services is recommended to minimize the risk of low birth-weight as it will help the timely correction of factors predicting low birth weight. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1998;12(1):33-37]