The relationship between maternal body mass index and the birth weight of neonates in North-West Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Birth weight (BW) is an important determinant of infant's well-being. Several factors such as mothers' genetic characteristics, sociocultural, demographic, behavioral factors, prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), and gestational weight gain contribute to BW. Objective: This study assesses the association between the maternal BMI at the first visit to the BW of their babies in women attending antenatal care clinic in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto Nigeria. Methodology: This was a hospital-based longitudinal study conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of UDUTH, Sokoto, between November 01, 2011 and October 30, 2012. Two hundred and five pregnant women with singleton gestation and uncomplicated pregnancies were consecutively recruited during the antenatal booking visit after the second missed menstrual period and before 13 weeks of gestation and followed up to delivery. Relevant sociodemographic data including the BMI and BW of the Neonates were recorded using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20 Armonk, NY, USA. Results: The ages of the women range from 16 to 44 years with a mean of 27.45 (±5.32) years. The mean BMI at first visit was 25.09 kg/m 2 (6.06), while the mean BW of the babies was 3.07 (0.54) kg. There was a significant correlation between maternal BMI at their first visit to the BW of the neonates (r = 0.607, P < 0.001). This shows that maternal BMI is directly related to the neonatal BW. Conclusion: Our study has shown that there is a significant relationship between the maternal BMI and the BW of the neonates among antenatal attendees at UDUTH, Sokoto. Further expansion of the work is recommended including adjustment for maternal age, gestational weight gain, and ethnicity.