Epidemiological Factors Affecting Low Birth Weight

The present study was conducted to determine the epidemiological factors influencing low birth weight. The prominent factors associated with low birth weight (LBW) such as maternal age, parity, obstetric and maternal anthropometry were studied in a rural community of district Dehradun. The average birth weight of all newborns was 2.67± 0.42 kg and 23.84% of newborns were LBW. The factors which were significant for LBW were antenatal care, parity, inter-pregnancy interval, gestational weight, and bad obstetric history. However, the relationship between maternal age and height with low birth weight was not found to be statistically significant (p>.05).