The Factors Affecting Newborn Birth Weight in Borujerd City: A Case-Control Study

Newborn birth weight is an important indicator for determining the health status of the human societies. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the critical factors affecting the newborn anthropometric indices in the health centers of Borujerd city, Iran.

This case-control study was conducted from September 2016 to June 2017. The participants included 22 infants with low birth weight (LBW) and 44 with normal birth weight (NBW). The demographic questionnaire and food frequency questionnaire were applied to collect data. For statistical analysis, SPSS version 16 was run and the significance level was set at P-value < 0.05. For comparing the quantitative variables between the case and control groups, the independent t-test and Chi-square test were performed.

The results indicated that mothers older than 35 years, self-employed fathers, pre-pregnancy, mothers' body mass index of more than 25 kg/m2, first pregnancy, pregnancy surveillance of less than four times, irregular consumption of folic acid, iron, and multi-vitamins during pregnancy, as well as inadequate consumption of meat, legumes, nuts, milk, dairy products, and vegetables during the pregnancy could increase the risk of LBW among infants significantly.

Mothers' nutritional status before pregnancy, promotion of nutritional status by considering food sundry, nutritional balance, and care during pregnancy in the health centers can play a crucial role in improving the infants’ anthropometric indices.