Abstract
Low birth weight newborns are more vulnerable to higher mortality and morbidity
rates than normal weight infants. Research to determine the maternal risk factors would
be valuable in planning a way to solve the problem. This retrospective study was aimed
at finding out those risk factors in women of more than 28 weeks pregnancy from the
delivery records during the period from September 1, 2005 to October 31, 2007. There
were 3,622 deliveries, of which 174 delivery incidents of low birth weight infants were
taken as the study group and 177 deliveries of normal birth weight infants as the control
group by systematic randomized sampling. The prevalence of low birth weight in this
study was 4.8 percent. Results from the univariate analysis showed that a maternal age
of less than 18 years, a gestational age of less than 37 weeks, attending ANC less than four
times, and maternal height less than 145 centimeters were risk factors. Multiple logistic
regression analysis revealed the risk factors to be maternal age being less than 18 years
old, gestational age less than 37 weeks, twin pregnancies, ANC less than four times, premature
membrane rupture, and pregnancy-induced hypertension.
