Factors associated with underweight among lactating women in Womberma woreda, Northwest Ethiopia; a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Ensuring nutritional status of women is important because the malignant effects of malnutrition are procreated to the next generation through women and their off-springs. Malnutrition causes 3.5 million death of women and children each year and almost 11% of the disease burden in the world. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess nutritional status and factors associated with underweight among lactating women in Womberma woreda, Northwest Ethiopia, 2016. METHODS: A Community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Womberma woreda, Northwest Ethiopia. A total of 668 lactating women who have 6–24 months of child were included in the study. Study participants were selected using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using interview-administered questionnaire. Body mass index (BMI) was used to measure the nutritional status of lactating women. Women’s body weight and height were measured using the standard anthropometric measurement procedures. Data were entered using EpiData software and analysis was done using SPSS software. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariable logistics regression analysis were used to present the findings. Variables with a p-value less than 0.05 on multiple variable logistic regression were taken as significant variables. RESULTS: Lactating women with normal nutritional status (BMI = 18.5–24.99 kg/m(2)) were 498 (74.5%), and underweight women (BMI < 88.5 kg/m(2)) were 170(25.4%). Respondents with less than five family size (AOR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.81, p-value = 0.007), women whose age of first pregnancy was less than 18 years old (AOR: 3.72, 95% CI: 2.33, 6.49 at p-value = 0.0001), home delivery for the recent child birth (AOR: 2.36, 95% CI: 1.50, 3.72 at p-value = 0.0001), and the absence of nutritional education programs in the community (AOR: 5.5, 95% CI: 1.8, 16.79 at p-value = 0.003) were the significant variables with underweight of lactating women. CONCLUSIONS: Nutritional status of lactating women in the study area was poor. One fourth of lactating women was underweight. Factors associated with underweight of lactating women include; respondents with less than five family size, women whose age of first pregnancy was less than 18 years old, home delivery for the recent childbirth, and the absence of nutritional education programs in the community. Early childbearing and short birth intervals between births should be discouraged. Programs which encourage institutional delivery and community-based nutritional education are important to improve women nutritional status.