Question

Low birth weight and its risk factors in a rural area of south india

Answer 1

Birth weight is a reliable and sensitive predictor of newborns’ chances for survival, growth and long term physical and psychosocial development.1 Infants weighing lesser than 2500 grams are approximately 20 times more likely to die than other babies, and are closely associated with foetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. Low birth weight (LBW) leads to inhibited growth and cognitive development2 and is also associated with chronic diseases later in life.3 Since birth weight has a strong correlation with infant survival, attention needs to be given to strategies that will reduce the proportion of infants born with LBW.4 There are a few longitudinal studies done in rural South India that have linked LBW to diet, antenatal care, environmental and socio demographic factors. Most studies are record based and retrospective, losing out on essential data like nutritional intake by dietary recall. The present study, among a population of antenatal mothers attending a rural hospital, seeks to address the lacunae in available literature, while documenting associated risk factors for LBW which can be prevented or corrected during pregnancy, thereby reducing the proportion of LBW. This study was done with the aim to estimate the proportion of LBW in a rural
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