Selection of mothers with increased risk of delivering low birthweight newborns at a public maternity hospital in Rosario, Argentina.
A retrospective analysis was made of births occurring over a six-month period at a public maternity hospital in the city of Rosario, Argentina, with a view to planning actions reducing the likelihood of low birthweight deliveries. Fifteen risk factors were assessed. While a history of delivering a low birthweight infant was the leading risk factor for both intrauterine growth retardation and preterm delivery, the other leading risk factors for these two types of low birthweight newborns differed. Many variables relating to socioeconomic and cultural levels that have traditionally been considered risk factors for low birthweight did not display any significant association. Risk calculations for the study population were made using data gathered at the patients' first prenatal checkup. These calculations indicated that mothers with one or more of four leading risk factors (a history of delivering low birthweight newborns, smoking more than two cigarettes a day, weighing less than 46 kg, and being less than 148 cm tall) constituted only 26.6% of the study population but accounted for 51.6% of the low birthweight deliveries. Such screening can provide an effective way of selecting high-risk mothers, and simple analyses of this sort are essential in planning health actions relating to low birthweight deliveries.
Belizán
J M
JM
Nardín
J C
JC
Carroli
G
G
Campodónico
L
L
D000367:Age Factors; D001118:Argentina; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors