Prevalence and Associated Factors of Low Birth Weight in Benishangul- Gumuz Regional State General Hospitals, North west Ethiopia, 2018

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.