Factors affecting neonatal birth weight in Sidotopo Wetan Health Centre: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Birth weight serves as an indicator of a newborn’s health status. It is associated with mortality rate in the first year, developmental problems in childhood and risk of various diseases in adulthood. Even in modern era, it continues to be a health concern globally, especially in developing countries. In Indonesia, the prevalence of low birth weight has increased from 2013 to 2018, swaying further from the national target. Low birth weight is often caused by insufficient nutrients supplied by the mother to the fetus. In Indonesia, chronic energy deficiency status is diagnosed in the first antenatal care visit by measuring maternal middle-upper arm circumference with a cut-off point of 23.5cm. Meanwhile, iron level is measured via assessing hemoglobin level will be measured in the first antenatal care visit and in trimester III. This study aims to describe the factors that may influence neonatal birth weight. It is a quantitative study with a cross sectional approach conducted at Sidotopo Wetan Public Health Centre. 97 samples are collected from medical records and analysed using bivariate correlative test. Result shows that maternal age (0.20), chronic energy deficiency status (0.026) and antenatal care visit minimal of 4 times (0.49) increase the risk of low-birth-weight incidence. On the other hand, educational level, maternal parity and anemia status does not acts as risks. In conclusion, maternal age, energy status and visits to antenatal care acts as risk factors in causing low birth weight.