Maternal malnutrition and epidemiological factors contributing to low birth weight and preterm births in peshawar

Objectives: to determine the nutritional,socio-demographic & other epidemiologic factors contributing to low birth weight and preterm births. methods: this cross sectional study was carried out at khyber teaching hospital,peshawar,kpk from november 2011-january 2012. a sample of 100 pakistani women whose neonates were admitted in the scbu nursery of kth was randomly selected. mothers with a history of severe chronic infections such as tuberculosis,polycystic ovarian syndrome,malaria,hepatitis and renal disorders were excluded. mothers were assessed for socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds. data regarding anthropometry of the mothers and neonates,clinical assessment of mothers for malnutrition and their dietary intake patterns,and history of maternal and neonatal complications was collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics on spss version 18. results: a convenient random sample of 100 mothers with mean age 26 years were subjected to investigation. the most prominent socioeconomic factors were rural backgrounds (82-88%),gross illiteracy 62-68%,complex family structures,larger family sizes (8-16 members),lower income level much below the pakistani standards (rs 8750-8600),multiple parity 20-22%,less spacing between delivery and conception of another baby(24-40%) were the major contributing factors. anthropometry was normal by who standards but nutritional deficiencies were common features. these facts were further strengthened by poor dietary intake. obstetrics histories and maternal infection were also major contributing factors. conclusion: a broader spectrum of epidemiological and dietary factors contributes to low birth weight and preterm births. the prevalence of maternal infections and neonatal complications in the present study were also common feature in both categories. © 2015,pakistan pediatric journal. all rights reserved.