Maternal Risk Factors Associated with Low Birth Weight

Background and purpose: Since a large proportion of fetal mortality is associated with low birth weight (LBW) and considering the fact that fetal development is a vulnerable process influenced by maternal risk factors, this study examined some maternal risk factors associated with LBW infants. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted based on the medical records of 250 infants born in Zeynabeieh Hospital. The required data were registered in a pre-developed checklist. Then, the collected data were analyzed by Chi-square in SPSS Software using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The mean weight of the sample was 3.2 ± 0.25 (1.5-4.7) kg. About 18% of the infants had birth weight of 2500 g or less. The most frequent educational level among the mothers was illiteracy and elementary education (60%), and the least was secondary education (9.2%). There was found a significant correlation between the mothers’ education and low birth weight (P < 0.001). Regarding the association between the mothers’ age and low birth weight, 18- to 35-year-old mothers comprised the highest number of mothers (75%), and upper 35-year-old mothers did the lowest (11.2%). Based on chi-square test, a significant correlation was observed between the mothers’ ages and low birth weight (p