Antenatal Care Visits: A Moderator of the Association Between a Mother’s Age and the Neonate’s Birthweight

Abstract

BACKGROUNDAntenatal care (ANC) visits influence the birthweight of a neonate. However, it is not clear whether ANC directly affects birthweight or simply acts as a moderator in the association between some maternal variable(s) and birthweight.METHODA secondary dataset consisting of 701 records of pregnant women who attended private and public hospitals in northern Nigeria was analyzed. Crude and stratum-specific odds ratios were computed to investigate the role of ANC in the association between various maternal variables and the neonate’s birthweight.FINDINGSThe mean age of the mothers in the experimental dataset was 26.4 years with a mean of three ANC visits and a mean neonate birthweight of 2.6 kilograms (kg) or 5.732 pounds (lbs). The number of ANC visits was found to moderate the association between a mother’s age and a neonate’s birthweight. No such moderation association was found between any other variables including a mother’s level of education, weight, or parity and a neonate’s birthweight.CONCLUSIONSANC visits appear to influence the relationship between a mother’s age and neonatal birthweight. The odds of an adult pregnant mother giving birth to a neonate of adequate birthweight can be maximized by attendance at a minimum of four ANC visits.