title: Parity and maternal education are associated with low birth weight in Malawi.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The consequences of low birth weight (LBW) include death and long-term health sequelae. Limited attention has been made towards the study of socio-demographic factors that may be associated with LBW in Malawi.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess factors that may be associated with LBW.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used secondary data on the 2006 Malawi Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). Logistic regression analyses were conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 26,259 females in the age group 15-49 years participated in the survey, and of these, 5024 had children who were reported to have been weighed at birth. Most (60.5%) of the respondents were in the 20-29 years age group. In multivariate analysis, the odds of LBW delivery were lower for women in higher wealth quintiles and those who had some education. Women who previously had a child were less likely to deliver a LBW baby.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The higher odds of delivering a LBW baby among women with no education, and lower wealth status may suggest that there is need to tailor pre-natal care based interventions on social status. This may involve creating education level-specific health messages.
authors.affiliation: Division of Community Health, Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Muula
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siziya
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rudatsikira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016015:Logistic Models; D008295:Malawi / Q000453:epidemiology; D017533:Marital Status; D008423:Maternal Age; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010298:Parity; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult