Abstract
Background: Low birth weight (LBW), defined as a birth weight <2500g is basically due to prematurity or small for gestational age (SGA). These infants remain a significant public health problem in both developing and developed countries due to their significantly higher rates of morbidity and mortality.Aim: This study was undertaken to find out the proportion of LBW due to prematurity and SGA in Port Harcourt, South-South Nigeria.Study design: A retrospective chart analysis of babies admitted into the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) between January 2002 and December 2009.Results: There were a total of 7,191 admissions into the SCBU within the period with 1,941 (27%) being LBW. A total of 1,463 (75.4%) were preterm LBW while 478 (24.6%) were SGA. Within the same period, there were a total of 20,209 booked live deliveries in the hospital, of which 2,046 were low birth weight babies [preterm LBW 1314(64.2%); term LBW 732 (30.8%)] giving a LBW incidence of 10.1%. The differences in the mean age and height of mothers who delivered an SGA and preterm infant were not statistically significant (p = 0.3 and 0.5 respectively). When compared to mothers of normal weight babies, mothers of LBW babies were significantly younger (p = 0.01) and shorter (p = 0.0001). Identified predisposing factors in preterms were hypertensive disorders, multiple births, antepartum haemorrhages and preterm prelabour rupture of membranes while for SGA, factors identified were malaria in pregnancy, congenital abnormality, multiple gestation, and hypertensive disorders. Mortality was significantly higher in the low birth weight (p=0.000).Conclusion: There seems to be a changing trend in the cause of LBW in our region with prematurity accounting for the greater proportion as found in developed countries. Interventions to prevent the causes of preterm delivery will go a long way in reducing the incidence of LBW in the South South region.
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