Abstract:
Abstract
Introduction: Low birth weight is a significant public health problem globally and is associated
with
many
short
term
and
long-term
health
problems
on
the
child
development
and
survival.
In
different
regions
of
Ethiopia,
high
prevalence
of
LBW
have
been
reported.
However,
there
were
no
studies
that
can
show
the
burden
of
LBW
in
benishangul-gumuz
region.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors
of
low
birth
weight
among
newborns
in
Benishangul-Gumuz
Region
State
General
Hospitals,
Northwest
Ethiopia.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted from March1, to April 1, 2018, at Assosa
and
Pawi
General
Hospitals
delivery
clinics
on
375
live
births.
Data
was
collected
through
face-to-face
interview
using
structured
and
pretested
questionnaire.data
entered
into
Epidata
Version
4.2.0.0
and
exported
to
Stata
version
14.0
for
analysis.
Descriptive
statistics
done
to
describe
socio-demographic
distribution
of
the
participants
while
bi-variable
and
multi-variable
logistic
regression
analyses
were
done
to
identify
the
significantly
associated
variables.
Result: Gestational age below 37 weeks ( adjusted odds ratio(AOR):4.1
95%CI:1.74,9.89). lack of ANC follow up (AOR:3.4 95%CI:1.24,9.54).malaria during pregnancy(AOR:4.2
95%CI:1.64,11.14),
anemia
during
pregnancy(
AOR:2.6
95%CI:1.03,7.00),
lack
of
iron
supplementation
(AOR:4.0
95%CI:1.30,12.61),
and
being
employed
(AOR:0.1
95%CI:0.01,0.92),
were
variables
with
statistically
significant
with
LBW.
Conclusion: The prevalence of LBW in this study is still high compared with WHO goal
by 2025. Being preterm, lack of ANC follow up, malaria during pregnancy, lack of iron supplementation
and
being
employed
were
statistically
significant
with
LBW.
Key words: Ethiopia; Factors; Low Birth Weight; Newborn; Prevalence.
