Effect of nutritional status of pregnant women on birth weight of newborns at Butajira Referral Hospital, Butajira, Ethiopia

BACK GROUND: Maternal nutritional status influences the developmental environment of the fetus which consequently affects the birth weight of the newborn. However, the association between maternal nutritional factors and birth weight is complex and is not well characterized in Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of maternal anthropometry and biochemical profile on birth weight of babies at Butajira Referral Hospital, Butajira, Ethiopia. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Laboratory-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 337 pregnant women at the hospital. Socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics were collected using pre-tested questionnaires. Blood sample was collected from each pregnant women for determination of total serum protein, total serum cholesterol and hemoglobin level. However, maternal dietary habits were not assessed in this study. RESULTS: A total of 337 pregnant women were involved in the study. The mean (standard deviation) birth weight of the newborns was 3.14 ± 0.46 kg. After adjusting for different maternal factors, parity (p = 0.013), hemoglobin level (p = 0.046), pre-pregnancy body mass index (p < 0.001) and weight gain during pregnancy (p < 0.001) were positively associated with birth weight of the newborns, while the associations with total protein (p = 0.822) and total cholesterol (p = 0.423) were not significant. CONCLUSION: This study has shown that nutritional status of pregnant women as indicated by maternal anthropometry and hemoglobin level was associated with birth weight of the baby. Therefore, nutritional status of the pregnant women should be improved to reduce the risk of low birth weight.