ABSTRACT
Objective To understand the relationship between the number of prenatal examination during pregnancy in Tibetan mothers and low birth weight infants, and to provide reference for improving the quality of antenatal care and reducing the incidence of low birth weight infants. Methods Tibetan women and newborns who gave birth in a hospital in Lhasa, Tibet from January 2012 to December 2018 were selected as research objects. The basic data, delivery materials and newborn data of all single births were collected. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the relationship between the number of maternal prenatal examinations and the birth weight of the newborn. Results In 5 563 pregnant women, the prenatal check-up rate was 10.48%. Among the newborns, low birth weight accounted for 11.32%. With the increase in the number of maternal births, the neonatal low birth weight rate showed a downward trend ( 2=14.57, P=0.002). Multivariate Logistic regression model showed that after controlling for maternal age, fetal gender, mode of delivery, fetal asphyxia and other confounding factors, the number of low prenatal examinations was still related to the occurrence of low birth weight infants. The incidence of low birth weight infants who gave birth to antenatal check-ups and 1-2 prenatal visits was 1.41 times (95% CI: 1.00-1.98) and 2.34 times (95% CI: 1.09-5.02) higher than those who received standardized prenatal checkups. Conclusions Tibetan pregnant women receive a lower proportion of standardized prenatal examination and there is a higher risk of low birth weight infants. It is recommended to strengthen the quality of maternal and child health care work in minority areas to ensure maternal and child safety.