Publication: Prevalence and Associated Factors of Low Birth Weight among Newborns in a Tertiary Level Hospital in Nepal
Date
2018
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kathmandu University
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background
A United Nations Children’s Fund reported that the global low birth weight was
15.5%, more than 95.6% of them being from developing countries. Low Birth Weight
is a major factor associated with neonatal deaths in developing countries. Also,
birth weight is one of the major factor in determining child survival, growth and
development.
Objective
The objective of the study was to identify the prevalence and associated factors of
low birth weight among newborns delivered in Dhulikhel Hospital.
Method
A cross sectional research design was carried out among all newborns delivered
at the maternity ward of Dhulikhel Hospital within a period of one year. Data were
collected using delivery record register as well as its electronic version which was
available in the ward. The collected data were entered and analyzed using software
SPSS 20 version with descriptive and inferential statistics.
Result
Total 2,798 numbers of newborns delivered in the hospital during the period of
one year met the inclusion criteria for the study. Among them, 21.6% had low birth
weight. We found that low birth weight of newborns was significantly affected by
younger age of the mother and lesser weeks of gestation at birth. There were no
significantly affected by antenatal clinic visit, parity, sex of the baby, type of delivery.
Conclusion
The study found that more than one fifth of babies had Low Birth Weight. The study
findings suggest that special emphasis should be given to minimize early pregnancy
to avoid low birth weight babies.
KEY WORDS
Delivery, Hospital, Low birth weight, Newborn
Description
Prajapati R, Shrestha S, Bhandari N
Department of Nursing
Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences
Dhulikhel, Kavre, Nepal.
Keywords
Delivery, Hospital, Low birth weight, Newborn