A cross sectional study for utilisation of antenatal care services and its association to birth weight of babies in a tertiary care centre in Western India

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe survival of a newborn beyond infancy depends largely on his birth weight. 1 Birth weight of less than 2.5 kgs, irrespective of gestational age is considered as low birth weight (LBW). 2 LBW babies who survive are more prone to infections and malnutrition which leads to their poor growth and development. During adulthood they are more likely to suffer from diabetes and cardiovascular diseses. 3 LBW is a major public health problem. Globally around 16% of newborn are LBW with maximum prevalence in developing countries. Almost every third child is LBW is south asia. 1 As per NFHS-3 report the prevalence of LBW was about 23% for rural and 19% for urban population. 4There are several factors contributing to LBW such as demographic and obstetric characteristics of mothers, utilisation of health care services, calorie intake, nutrition status of mothers, stress factors, etc. 5-9 While ABSTRACT Background: Low birth weight is a major public health problem in India. Amongst several factors affecting birth weight, the two crucial factors are demographic characteristics of mothers and utilisation of antenatal care services. Identification of these bottlenecks will help in forming suitable strategies to mitigate the problem of low birth weight in developing countries. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a medical college hospital of Gujarat. All the mothers admitted in maternity ward for delivery during July 2017 and had given informed consent, were involved in the study. Interview consisted of demographic characteristic of mothers, utilisation of antenatal services and records of pregnancy outcome. Data were entered in excel 2010 and analysed using Epi info 7.2. Strength of association between LBW and risk factors was obtained using odds ratio test. Results: Majority of the mothers had registered for antenatal care within the first trimester (78%) and had taken minimum of four ANC visits (93%). One fifth (18%) of the mothers had babies weighing less than 2.5 kgs. Lower education status of mothers, multigravida, and mothers with less than four ANC visits, preterm births and female foetus were significantly at higher risk of low birth weight as compared to their counterparts. Conclusions: The factors determining LBW were lower education status of mothers, multigravidity, inadequate ANC visits, preterm births and female sex of foetus. We recommend that increasing the education status of masses, particularly of females and ensuring adequate ANC utilisation will reduce the problem of LBW.

A comparative analysis of determinants of low birth weight and stunting among under five children of adolescent and non-adolescent mothers using 2015/16 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS)

“…According to WHO guideline a minimum of four ANC visits are required for safe maternity [ 29 ], our study has found mothers who attended at least four ANC had lower risk of delivering LBW infants compared to those who attended less than four ANC. This is similar to the finding from a study conducted in India by Priyanka D [ 30 ].…”

Assessment of prevalence and risk factors for anaemia in pregnant women attending Karnataka institute of medical sciences, outpatient department, Hubballi, Karnataka, India

“…In contrast to this in this study only 61% have taken more than four ANC visits. 6 In the study conducted by Bano F et al, anaemia was more prevalent in those 83% of pregnant women who did not have the history of taking anti-helminthic drugs within 6 months prior to conception which is similar to this study. 7 In the same study anaemia was more prevalent among primigravida than multigravida; in contrast to above findings, in this study anaemia was prevalent among multigravida (85%) than primigravida (76.5%).…”

Study of utilization of antenatal care services and its determinants among pregnant women admitted in a tertiary care hospital in Mangaluru, Karnataka, India

“…10 Present study was intended at exploring the utilization of ante natal services and to find out its determinants among women attending a tertiary care hospital in southern part of the country. 9,10 Analysis of data in present study brings out that majority of the respondents (51.9%) were in the age group 20 [11][12][13][14] Present study brought out 100% registration of pregnancy among study subjects, out of which 75.5% were registered within 12 weeks, -100% of them received antenatal check-up, 68.7% were examined by doctors, 89.9% of the women received injection tetanus toxoid and iron therapy, while 74.1% of the respondents made four or more visits to ante natal clinics. The location of clinics was found to be <5 km in 51.6% cases, while 16.0% of the families had to arrange for the cost of treatment by taking loans from friends and relatives and were subjected to financial hardships.…”