Maternal Anthropometric Status as A Correlate of Neonatal Outcomes Among Pregnant Women in Selected Secondary Health Facilities in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State

Abstract

Maternal anthropometric measurements provide a simple, cheap and available means of predicting neonatal outcomes. Pregnant women anthropometric indices reveal their nutritional statuses and determine to great extent the health of the neonate after they have been born. Hence, this study investigated maternal anthropometric status as a correlates of neonatal outcomes among pregnant women in selected secondary health facilities in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria. This retrospective study adopted descriptive research design. Purposive sampling technique was used to select those who met the inclusion criteria. Total enumeration was used for the study. A self-structured checklist was used to extract data about pregnant women who booked from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 within 18 weeks of their gestation with singleton pregnancy. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed a significant association between maternal BMI and Baby’s birth weight with Chi-square X2 (91.66, df =1, p<0.05).The finding revealed that underweight mothers had higher chance of having small for gestational age babies (SGA) and LBW as compared to average weight mothers. The study concluded that there is a significant association between maternal BMI and birth weight. Based on the finding, the study recommended among others that the healthcare practitioners are to identify pregnant women who at risk of adverse birth outcomes and educate them appropriately. Pregnant mothers whose babies would need special care at birth should be referred to the health facility that can handle such cases before delivery to enhance the neonatal survival rate.