Prevalence of Low Birth Weight and Effect of Some Maternal Characteristics on Neonatal Birth Weight in Rural and Urban Areas of Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Low birth weight (LBW) is a major determinant of infant and young child mortality, morbidity and disability. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of LBW and the effect of some maternal characteristics on the birth weight of neonates in Ebonyi State. The study involved 395 singleton babies delivered in five randomly selected (5) hospitals in the state. Information on maternal hemoglobin status, family income, maternal chronological age and birth weight of neonates were collected and analyzed using appropriate statistics. The prevalence of low birth weight (LBW = < 2.5kg) was 4.8kg. There was a significant difference (p = 0.03) in the prevalence of low birth weight between urban (8.5%) and rural (3.2%) neonates. A good number (57.0%) of the respondents were between the ages of 25 -35 years of age (46.8% for rural and 81.2% for urban). Majority (78.9%) of mothers were between 19 – 35 years had low birth weight neonates. Mothers in the middle-income group had the highest percentage (46.3%) of low birth weight babies. There was no significant relationship (p > 0.05) between neonatal birth weight and maternal age; between neonatal birth weight and family income; and between neonatal birth weight and maternal hemoglobin status. The prevalence of LBW in this study is lower than those reported earlier for Nigeria. The implications of these findings are discussed.