Maternal Risk Factors Associated with Term Low Birth Weight Infants
1Umar Tipu, 2Dr. Seema Yasmeen, 3Mansoor Musa, 4Qamar Abbas, 5Isma Abbas, 6Faiza Maqsood
1Sir Gangaran Hospital Lahore.
2MBBS, MCPS, Associate Professor Community Medicine, Shahida Islam Medical and Dental College, Lodhran.
3UHS Lahore
4UHS Lahore
5UHS Lahore
6UHS Lahore
ABSTRACT:
Background: The problem of low birth weight (LBW) at term was also an important issue in the sphere of public health that is associated with the development of more neonatal morbidity, death, and other problems in the future. Although preterm births have been identified as a cause of LBW, there is a trend of normal infants born under LBW due to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) as a cause physiologically induced by different maternal factors. It was necessary to diagnose these risk factors to carry out preventive measures to enhance better neonatal outcomes.
Objective: The objective of this study was firstly to define the maternal risk factors that exist in relation to a term low birth weight infant and secondly to quantify their effects in relation to the incidence of LBW at term.
Materials: It is a descriptive cross-sectional study that was carried out in Shahida Islam medical and dental college Lodhran between June 2024 and May 2025. One hundred term newborn babies and their mothers were involved. Purposive sampling was used in choosing the participants on the basis of delivery records. The information was extracted with the help of a structured questionnaire and medical record reviews composed of maternal socio-demographic traits, obstetrical history, nutritional status, and antenatal care utilization. Term LBW the term was defined as weighing less than 2500-gram birth weight in 37 or more weeks of completion gestation. The descriptive statistics and chi-square test forms of statistical analysis were carried out to establish the association between maternal factors and LBW. Results: Term LBW was estimated to be at 28% in the study group. Major maternal risk factors that were found to be linked with LBW at term were maternal age less than 20 years (p=0.03), maternal body mass index less than 18.5 kg/m 2 (p=0.002), inadequate visits to antenatal care (<4 visits) (p=0.001), maternal anemia during pregnancy (p=0.004) and development of pregnancy-induced hypertension (p=0.02). Other significant associations were also noted with socioeconomic status, maternal education level and short interpregnancy interval (<18 months). Exposure of mothers to smoking during pregnancy and multiparity were also more frequently observed among mothers who gave birth to term LBW infants but their relationships were not significant.
Conclusion: This article proved that term LBW had close association with other risk factors that were modifiable and avoidable based on maternal issues such as poor maternal nutrition, poor antenatal care and maternal anemia. Management of these factors by specific antenatal care, nutritional supplements, and community based maternal health education would substantially cut down the rate of LBW in term infants. Risk identification at an early stage and overall support to the mother continues to play an essential role in enhancing neonatal outcomes.
Keywords: Low birth weight, Term infants, Maternal risk factors, Antenatal care, Maternal anemia, Intrauterine growth restriction.