Study of Associated Factors to Low Birth Weight, Preterm Birth and Registration to Delivery Care System

Introduction: Globally LBW is a major challenge to the survival of new born. In India, LBW babies are nearly 30 % of which more than 80 % die during neonate period. LBW is the major obstacle to achieve the MDG-4 target. The major cause of LBW identified is preterm and IUGR babies which can be reduced through appropriate antenatal care. The present analysis assessed the quantum of LBW, preterm babies and unregistered mothers along with their associated characteristics. Material and methods: The data relates to mothers attending SS hospital, a tertiary care hospital of eastern UP during April - June, 2017. Characteristics recorded were age, parity, abortion history, registration status, gestational age, mode of delivery, sex of born and birth weight. Out of a total of 507 new born, the analysis was subjected to only 467 mothers by including singleton births and recorded characteristics. Statistical Analysis Uni-variate and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed. The statistical significance was judged at = 5 %. . Observation and results: Nearly one third (32.8 %) babies were LBW, 29.8 % preterm and 28.3 % unregistered. Only gestational age was found an independent significant predictor of LBW; the likelihood of LBW was 6.83 times higher if the birth was preterm than full term. Independent significant predictors of preterm babies were non-registration, parity and previous history of abortion; while for non-registration predictors identified were parity and previous abortion history. Conclusion: To reduce the problem of LBW, mothers especially of higher order should be advised for the registration of pregnancy to their nearest health care system for monitoring and interventions.