A study of low birth weight prevalence and risk factors among newborns in a public-hospital at Kilis, Turkey

BACKGROUND: Low birth weight (LBW) is an important indicator of reproductive health and general health status of population. OBJECTIVES: The present study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of low birth weight (LBW), and to investigate the associations between some risk factors and LBW in Syrian refugee and Turkish population in Kilis, Turkey. METHODS: The population of this study constituted of a total of 4379 infants born in Kilis State Hospital in 2016 using a retrospective cross-sectional study design. The data were collected from birth records. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of low birth weight. Factors with a p-value < 0.05 were deemed to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The prevalence of LBW was 6.7% in all groups. Significant relationships were found between young maternal age, Syrian refugee mother, female infants, cesarean delivery and LBW. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of low birth weight in the study area was comparatively lower than that of countrywide figure. Maternal related variables like, maternal age, mother's nationality, and mode of birth (vaginal, cesarean) take after up as well as new-born related variables like gender of the neonate were significantly related with low birth weight.