Maternal Determinants Of Birth Weight Status Of Newborns At Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching And Referral Hospital, Kisumu County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Low Birth Weight (LBW) is a serious public health problem, especially in developing

countries. Globally, 15.5% of all births are born LBW and 95.6% of them occur in

developing countries. In Kenya, 8% of babies are born LBW and at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga

Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) it is 11.1%. Despite several efforts such as

antenatal care services put in place to improve the quality of maternal and child health, the

rates of LBW are still high. LBW is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in infants.

Identification of factors influencing birth weight status of newborns is important in improving

maternal and child health. This study assessed the maternal determinants of birth weight

status of newborns at JOOTRH, Kisumu County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to

assess the birth weight status, determine the relationship between socio-demographic,

economic, obstetric and nutritional characteristics of the mother on birth weight status of

newborns at JOOTRH. This was a cross-sectional study with a sample size of 131 newborns

and their mothers from a total population of 538 deliveries during the study period.

Systematic random sampling was used to select the study respondents. A questionnaire was

used to collect data on socio-demographic, economic, obstetric and nutritional characteristics.

A record review checklist was used to collect secondary data on obstetric history and

nutritional information during pregnancy. Anthropometric assessment was done to collect

information on maternal Mid-Upper Arm Circumference using a standard World Health

Organization Mid-Upper Arm Circumference tape, weight and height using a stadiometer and

baby’s weight using a digital beam balance. Data analysis was done using descriptive

statistics such as frequencies, mean and measures of dispersion and binary logistic regression

based on a 95% level of significance. Odds ratio was used to determine if there was a

significant association between maternal determinants and LBW. The study results showed

that the prevalence of LBW was 13.7%. LBW was strongly associated with mother’s

employment status (Adjusted Odds Ratio {AOR}=4.769), birth interval of