BackgroundSurveys in Vietnam have indicated that wasting and stunting have been prevalent among children, but the country is undergoing rapid socio-economic changes and little has been known about the relative situation in the different areas of the country. In 2006, the WHO introduced new growth standards applicable to all infant and child populations, which facilitates for improved assessments of the prevalence of growth impairment, independent of time, place and ethnicity. The aim of our study was to assess the growth of singleton infants delivered at term in three main birth clinics in the Khanh Hoa province in Vietnam by using the new WHO standards as reference, and the association between growth and some maternal, birth and health factors.MethodsA cohort of 237 singleton infants born in the period May-July 2005 in three main delivery clinics in the Khanh Hoa province were observed prospectively. Their anthropometrical measures a year later were compared to the WHO sex-specific growth standards for weight-for-age, length-for-age, weight-for-length, and BMI-for-age. These measures were analysed as dependent outcomes using multiple linear regression models including the following independent factors: urban vs. rural birth, 1-minute Apgar score, weight and length at birth, duration of lactation, ever had diarrhoea, dengue fever, pneumonia or dysentery, and maternal age, height, gestational duration and parity.ResultsCompared to the standard distributions, 79% were below the median for weight-for-length; 18.0% were within the 5th percentile for length-for-age, 9.6% for weight-for-age, 20.3% for weight-for-length, and 19.8% for BMI. A lower length- and weight-for-age were statistically associated with being born rurally.ConclusionsIn this delivery-clinic based sample of children in the Khanh Hoa province in Vietnam, the proportions within the WHO-standard 5th percentiles for length-for-age, weight-for-length and BMI in late infancy were 3-4 times higher than expected, which indicate that deficient growth is prevalent. The infants born in a rural area had a lower weight- and length-for-age than their urban counterparts, independent of diarrhoea.

Ciprofloxacin remains highly efficient in Madagascar and Central Africa, ceftriaxone and spectinomycin should be used as the first-line antimicrobial agents in treating gonorrhea in Vietnam.

This study aimed to assess maternal parity and its association with the birth weight of newborns in the Khanh Hoa province in the south-central part of Vietnam. In 2005, 240 consecutively admitted pregnant women in three main delivery clinics, both rural and urban, were enrolled. The women delivered 238 singleton newborns with a mean birth weight of 3201 grams (95% confidence limits: 3155, 3247). Vietnam has a strict two-child policy, but 10 percent were borne by women who had at least two previous deliveries. Thus, also women who give birth more than twice appeared to deliver in the public birth clinics. The adjusted birth weight was strongly associated with the parity, which means that population adherence to policies limiting the number of children to one or two influences the overall population mean and distribution of birth weight.