A health facility based case-control study on determinants of low birth weight in Dassie town, Northeast Ethiopia: the role of nutritional factors

Study answer

What this study found

Nutritional factors during pregnancy are determinants of LBW. Absence of iron/folate supplementation, lack of nutritional counseling, and not having an extra meal were associated with higher LBW risk. Maternal undernutrition (MUAC <23 cm), maternal anemia, and inadequate dietary diversity (MDD-W <5) were also significant determinants. Strengthening nutritional counseling, iron/folate supplementation, extra meals, and improving dietary diversity during pregnancy may reduce LBW incidence in Ethiopia. Key adjusted associations: no supplementation 2.84 (95% CI 1.15-7.03); no counseling 4.05 (95%…

Study & population

Facility-based unmatched case-control study conducted from 3 February to 29 April 2017 in all public health facilities of Dessie Town, Northeast Ethiopia.

Intervention

Iron and folic acid supplementation during pregnancy

Key limitation

Not including private health facilities; gestational age determined by maternal recall; potential recall bias for dietary intake, ANC visits, and supplement use; observational case-control design cannot establish causality; no dosage data for iron/folate supplementation; generalizability limited to Dessie Town public…

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Original abstract