Low Birth Weight in Sidi Bel Abbes Region (West of Algeria): Retrospective Study of 10008 Deliveries

Abstract

Introduction: Low birth weight is a widely used indicator of newborn health. It is generally recognized that the etiology of LBW is multifactorial. It is a major problem of public health in both developing countries and developed countries. Aim: This study investigates the association of birthweight <2.5 kg (LBW) with a wide range of factors related with LBW and their contribution to the problem. Methods: A descriptive retrospective study using existing data from January 2011 to January 2012 of 10200 pregnant women and their newborns was done at maternity in Sidi Bel Abbes City of west Algeria. Results: At the end of this work, it appears a prevalence of 10008 live infants, including 554 newborns with low birth weight, or a rate of 5.53%. LBW was strongly associated with primiparous. This study confirms the close association between low birth weight newborn and maternal age between 20 and 34 years, gestational age less than 37 weeks, and the APGAR score <7. Other complications and diseases which contributed to high prevalence of LBW included hypertension and gestational diabetes. Conclusion: There is need of increasing promotion of reproductive health services in relation to safe motherhood at community level in order to reduce risk factors of LBW