title: Maternal associated factors of low birth weight: a hospital based cross-sectional mixed study in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Birth weight is an important determinant of child survival and development. So far, the prevalence and traditional maternal feeding practice correlates of low birth weight have not been explored well in Ethiopia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of low birth weight among mothers who delivered at governmental hospitals, Northern, Ethiopia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional mixed study design was carried out in 3 zonal hospitals among 308 mothers and their respective live born baby consecutively using interviewer administered piloted questionnaire and 3 focus group discussions were conducted for the qualitative part. The mothers were interviewed and assessed within 6 hours of delivery; all babies were weighed on standard beam balance from Aug 2 to Sep 12. Data were entered, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify the predictors at p < 0.05. For the qualitative study design, following iterative hearing of the discussions verbatim interpretation was done & categorized in to themes and finally triangulated with the quantitative results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of low birth weight was found to be 14.6% (95 % CI = 12.56-16.61) and the mean and standard deviations of the birth weights were 3094.9 ± 587.6 grams. Low birth weight was associated with rural place of residence (AOR = 4.34 (95 % CI = 1.99-9.48)), preterm birth/gestational age less than 37 weeks (AOR = 18.5 (95 % CI = 4.94-69.4)), presence of any chronic medical illness (AOR = 5.3 (95 % CI = 1.12-25.45) and maternal weight <50 kg (AOR = 2.26 (95 % CI = 1.06-4.80)). It was found that tradition of selection and preference of nutritionally poor food items during pregnancy was deep-rooted in the community.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of low birth weight was found to be high and it was associated with rural place of residence, gestational age <37 wks, presence of any chronic medical illness & maternal weight <50 kg. Emphasis should be given to nutritional counseling and disease specific ANC provision by skilled health professionals; Discussions with the community and religious leaders are mandatory aspect on the tradition of feeding of pregnant mothers to tackle the problem. This study also calls for community based further studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Aksum University, College of Health Sciences, P.O. Box-1010, Aksum, Ethiopia. mere2010ec@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Meresa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gebremedhin
authors.affiliation: Bahir Dar University, College of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. fentambaw@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Fentie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ambaw
authors.affiliation: Bahir Dar University, College of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. eleniam16@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Admassu
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Aksum University, College of Health Sciences, P.O. Box-1010, Aksum, Ethiopia. haileselasieb@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Haileselassie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Berhane
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult