Maternal Factors in Predicting Low Birth Weight Babies
- Author:
Hematram Yadav
;
Nagarajah Lee
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Low birth weight, blood pressure, maternal factors, newborns
- From:
The Medical Journal of Malaysia
2013;68(1):44-47
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
This study examines the association between maternal
factors and low birth weight among newborns at a tertiary
hospital in Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional study where mothers were followed through from first booking till
delivery. There were 666 mothers who delivered from May
2007 to March 2008. Infants’ birth weight were compared
with maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, fathers BMI, parity,
ethnicity, per capita monthly income, and maternal blood
pressure during pregnancy. A multiple logistic regressions
was used to determine the relationship of maternal factors
and low birth weight, while the ROC curve was constructed
to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the predictive
model. Among the significant risk factors of low birth weight were older age (35 years and above), low pre-pregnancy BMI (<20 kg/m2), parity of 4 and above, Indian origin, economically under privileged, and low and high blood pressure. Blood pressure during pregnancy was an
important risk factor for LBW, by using this parameter alone the risk of LBW could be predicted with a sensitivity rate of 70% and a specificity rate of 70%. The sensitivity and specificity was further improved to 80% and 75% percent respectively when other factors like maternal factors such as maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, ethnicity, and per capita monthly income were included in the analysis.
