Status of low birth weight at a tertiary level hospital in Bangladesh for a Selected Period

Authors

  • Sharmeen Yasmeen Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Bangladesh Medical College, Dhaka
  • Ehsamul Azim Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine, Bangladesh Medical College, Dhaka

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v1i1.13209

Keywords:

Low birth weight, Monthly family income, Preterm, Gestational period

Abstract

In Bangladesh, the prevalence of low birth weight is unacceptably high. A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out during the period of June to September 2009 among the mothers whose babies were born in Bangladesh Medical College, a tertiary level hospital situated in Dhaka, to assess the proportion of children born with low birth weight. The mothers of 102 babies born within the specified period were chosen purposively for this study. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used as the research instrument and data was collected from them by face to face interviews. Results revealed that the proportion of low birth weight babies was 25.49% (n-26). Most of the low birth weight babies (30.77%) identified came from families with an average monthly income of less than 5,000 Taka. Among 26 low birth weight babies, 21 (80.77%) were born before completing 37 weeks and only three (19.23%) were born after completing 37 weeks of the gestational period. Significant association was found between low birth weight babies and family income (p<0.001), and between low birth weight babies and pre-term (p<.0001). It is considered that the present findings of this study will not only help initiate measures to combat the problem in the future but also serve as a useful basis for research and planning.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v1i1.13209

South East Asia Journal of Public Health 2011:1:24-27

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Published

2013-01-08

How to Cite

Yasmeen, S., & Azim, E. (2013). Status of low birth weight at a tertiary level hospital in Bangladesh for a Selected Period. South East Asia Journal of Public Health, 1(1), 24–27. https://doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v1i1.13209

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2011)

Section

Original Research

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