Regular antenatal care visits were associated with low risk of low birth weight among newborns in Rwanda: Evidence from the 2014/2015 Rwanda Demographic Health Survey (RDHS) Data

Abstract

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) remains the global unfinished agenda in most countries of the world especially in low- and middle-income countries. LBW subsequently has harmful effects on the lifestyle, psychosocial and physiological development of the child. Although it is known that antenatal care (ANC) visits are important interventions contributing to prediction of newborn birth weight, little has been conducted on effect of ANC visits on birth weight in Rwanda. This study aimed at determining the association between regular ANC visits and risk of LBW among newborns in Rwanda. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted to analyse the effects of ANC on LBW using the 2014/2015 Rwanda Demographic Health Survey. Associations of socio-demographic, socio-economic, and individual factors of the mother with LBW newborns were performed using bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: Prevalences of LBW and macrosomia were 5.8% and 17.6%, respectively. Newborns delivered from mothers attending fewer than four ANC visits were at almost three-times greater risk of having LBW [aOR=2.8; 95%CI (1.5–5.4), p=0.002] compared to those whose mothers attending four or more ANC visits. Residing in a rural area for pregnant women was significantly associated with LBW [aOR=1.1; 95%CI (0.7–1.6), p=0.008]. Maternal characteristics, such as anemia, predicted an increase in LBW [aOR=3.5; 95%CI (1.5–5.4), p<0.001]. Those who received no nutritional counseling [aOR=2.5; 95%CI (2–8.5), p<0.001] and who were not told about maternal complications [aOR=3.3; 95%CI (1.5–6.6), p=0.003] were more prone to deliver newborns with LBW than those who received them. Pregnant women who received iron and folic acid were less likely to have LBW newborns [aOR=0.5; 95%CI (0.3–0.9), p=0.015]. Conclusion: ANC visits significantly contributed to reducing the incidence of LBW. This study underscores the need for early, comprehensive, and high-quality ANC services to prevent LBW in Rwanda.

Understanding correlates of infant mortality in Ethiopia using 2019 Ethiopian mini demographic and health survey data

“…This study revealed that male infants had higher risk of dying compared to female infants. This result is consistent with the prior studies 10 , 33 – 37 . The possible reason might be that males are biologically weaker and more susceptible to diseases and premature death compared to females 38 .…”

“…Our study also revealed that an infant born in rural area had higher risk of death than an infant born in urban areas. This finding agrees with the results of the studies 10 , 30 , 32 . This could be due to that urban mothers are better educated and have better health facilities than rural ones.…”

“…This study revealed that infants born from mothers aged 35 years and above had lower risk of mortality than those born from mothers aged below 25 years. This finding is consistent with the result of study 10 , 30 , 31 . The possible justification could that the older mothers may have the experience of handling the infants better than the younger mothers.…”

“…Previous study identified different correlates of infant mortality like sex of child, breastfeeding status, size of child at birth, place of delivery, mother’s age at first birth, child’s birth order, type of birth, mother’s age, religion, maternal anaemia, maternal HIV, wealth index, mother’s educational level, diarrhoea, family size, residence, mother’s marital status, pregnancy type, region, mother’s educational level, ANC visit, source of drinking water, toilet facility, sex of household 10 – 29 .…”