Low birth weight in a subnormal urban cluster under Family Health Strategy’s care

Maria De Fátima Caminha,Tacyanne Fischer Lustosa,Malaquias Batista Filho,Suzanna Lins Da Silva,Janaína Natália Alves Lima,Camila Carvalho Santos,Luana Cristina Queiroz Farias

doi:10.1590/1806-93042019000400017

Abstract

Abstract Objectives: to identify the prevalence and to analyze the factors associated with low birth weight in a subnormal urban cluster in Pernambuco under Family Health Strategy’s care. Methods: a cross-sectional study with a census sample carried out between July and October in 2015. The variables studied were age and years of maternal schooling, social status, housing, water supply, waste disposal, prenatal care, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking during pregnancy, along with gender, birth weight and prematurity. Stata 12.1 was utilized in order to understand the factors associated with low birth weight through uni-and-multivariate Poisson analysis, adjusted and gross prevalence ratios, composing a final statistical model considering p value <0.05 for statistical significance. Results: regarding the 294 children the LBW prevalence was 12.2% (CI95% = 8.7-16.5). Children whose mothers reported drinking during pregnancy were 2.78 times more at risk of being born with low birth weight (p<0.001) when compared with children whose mothers did not report this practice in gestation. Conclusions: the study evidenced the relevance maternal habits bears in the newborns’ health.

Highlights

The present study aims at identifying the prevalence and analyzing the factors associated with low birth weight at a subnormal urban cluster in Pernambuco assisted by the family health strategy (FHS)
We found that children whose mothers mentioned alcohol consumption in pregnancy were 2.78 times more at risk of being born with low weight (p
The question remains: would the value of 12.2% apply to urban communities in the studied region with similar features or, with more effectiveness, to other favela populations in Brazil? In other words, what is the external validity of our results, considering the greater, initial, interest in reporting the problem of low weight to an estimate reality of 11 million people, which constitutes the demographic effective size of Brazilian favelas?21 Briefly, we should remember that the low birth weight (LBW) is one of the most discriminating indicators for Health’s international heterogeneities, exemplified with the cases of South Asia (38%) and Iemen (32%), whereas Finland shows 4%

Summary

Introduction

Birth weight represents an important indicator of intrauterine conditions to which a child is subjected during the gestation period.[1,2] It is considered an important predictor of survival probability for newborns in the short term; of the physiological development of a child in the medium term; and of an adult’s health in the long term, increasing the risk of developing chronic, non-transmissible diseases.[3,4,5]According to the United Nations (UN), the rate of low birth weight (LBW) is 16% on a world scale and 9% in Brazil,[6] and is influenced by assistential, environmental and socioeconomic conditions that the mother experienced in the gestation period.[7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19] the following risk factors to LBW emerge: poverty,[7,8,9] low educational attainment with consequent lack of information,[10,11] habits in pregnancy such as the consumption of cigarettes[12,13] and alcoholic beverages,[14,15,16] and assistance in healthcare.1719 It is, a field open to more consistent studies on the reality of maternal and infant health in Brazil, notably in regard to the populations from subnormal urban clusters. According to the United Nations (UN), the rate of low birth weight (LBW) is 16% on a world scale and 9% in Brazil,[6] and is influenced by assistential, environmental and socioeconomic conditions that the mother experienced in the gestation period.[7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19] the following risk factors to LBW emerge: poverty,[7,8,9] low educational attainment with consequent lack of information,[10,11] habits in pregnancy such as the consumption of cigarettes[12,13] and alcoholic beverages,[14,15,16] and assistance in healthcare.1719. Favelas and other types of precarious settlements, situation defined as ‘subnormal urban cluster’,20 constitute the most visible expression of the habitational problems.[21]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion