The Relationship between Maternal Biosocial Determinants and Infant Birth Weight

Abstract

Background & aim: Low birth weight (LBW) is the center of focus as a cause of many social, emotional, and mental deficiencies. The identification of the probable causes of LBW is considered as an important measure in reducing the prevalence of this health problem. Regarding this, the present study was carried out to compare some of the mental and social traits in the mothers of normal weight newborns and those with LBW neonates. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the parents of 400 neonates selected by the proportional sampling technique in Isfahan, Iran. The participants were assigned into two groups of mothers including 200 subjects with LBW neonate and 200 cases with normal birth weight newborns. The data were collected using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-42) developed by Lavibond and Lavibond in 1995 and the couple satisfaction index. Results: According to the results of the study, there was a significant difference between the two groups of mothers in terms of depression, stress, anxiety, age, medicine consumption, level of education, and marital satisfaction (p <0.001). However, the history of urinary tract infection was not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: As the findings of this study revealed, different aspects of maternal mental health can affect the pregnancy outcome through many pathways. Regarding this, the implementation of the interventions improving the maternal mental health might be useful in the reduction of the neonatal and pediatric mortality and morbidity.