Comparative study of birth weight in newborns in tribal and non-tribal area in Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Introduction: Birth weight is an important health indicator. The health indicator helps us to know the trend of population structure and social setup of the tribal people. The present study was conducted to study the birth weight among two population categories - tribal population of Kinwat, District Nanded and non-tribal population of Badnapur, Jalna, Maharashtra. Materials and Methods: The birth weight of 2000 neonates born from 1st April 2012 to 31st March 2014 were obtained from the registers of the maternity wards of two Hospitals; More Nursing Home, Kinwat District Nanded for tribal population and IIMSR Medical College & Noor Hospital, Badnapur, Jalna, Maharashtra, India. Results: Mean birth weight among the tribal neonates (2.74 kg) was significantly lower (p-value=0.001) than among non-tribal neonates (2.88 kg). Also, the proportion of low birth weight neonates was significantly higher among the tribal population. Similarly, for maternal age (age group 20-25 years) and parity (Para 2-4), the mean birth weight is significantly lower in tribal population as compared to the non-tribal population. Conclusion: The mean birth weight is lower in tribal population and also the proportion of low birth weight in neonates is high in this population. This signifies that the tribal population deserves attention and focused health interventions. Keywords: Birth weight, Tribal population, Low birth weight, Maternal age, Parity.