Incidence of Low Birthweight in Central Nepal: A Community-Based Prospective Cohort Study

Many deliveries in low income countries still take place at home and the newborns are often not weighed. This community-based study ascertained the incidence of low birthweight (LBW) and compared the birthweight between home- and facility-born neonates in central Nepal. A total of 701 pregnant women...

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Main Authors: Karkee, R., Lee, Andy, Binns, Colin, Khanal, V., Pokharel, P.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10609
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author Karkee, R.
Lee, Andy
Binns, Colin
Khanal, V.
Pokharel, P.
author_facet Karkee, R.
Lee, Andy
Binns, Colin
Khanal, V.
Pokharel, P.
author_sort Karkee, R.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Many deliveries in low income countries still take place at home and the newborns are often not weighed. This community-based study ascertained the incidence of low birthweight (LBW) and compared the birthweight between home- and facility-born neonates in central Nepal. A total of 701 pregnant women from the Kaski district were recruited and interviewed. Birthweights of newborns were measured by pan balance in health facility settings immediately after birth, or by local community health volunteers using colour-coded spring balance within 48 h of home birth. Household follow up of participants were undertaken less than 45 days after delivery to record the weight of their infants. Of the 639 postpartum women who took part in the follow up interview, information on birthweight was available from 605 singleton births. Among them, 65 (10.7 %) were born at home. Overall, the mean birthweight was 3,059 (SD 464) g and incidence of LBW was 16.5 % (95 % CI 13.5-19.5 %). However, the home-born infants reported significantly lower (p = 0.009) mean birthweight (2,920, SD 435 g) than their facility-born counterparts (3,078, SD 461 g). This difference in birthweight remained significant (p = 0.03) after adjustment for maternal and socio-demographic characteristics. Incidence of LBW in central Nepal was quite high. Home-born babies appeared to have lower birthweight and thus their inclusion could provide an accurate estimate of the LBW rate. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-106092017-09-13T14:54:25Z Incidence of Low Birthweight in Central Nepal: A Community-Based Prospective Cohort Study Karkee, R. Lee, Andy Binns, Colin Khanal, V. Pokharel, P. Many deliveries in low income countries still take place at home and the newborns are often not weighed. This community-based study ascertained the incidence of low birthweight (LBW) and compared the birthweight between home- and facility-born neonates in central Nepal. A total of 701 pregnant women from the Kaski district were recruited and interviewed. Birthweights of newborns were measured by pan balance in health facility settings immediately after birth, or by local community health volunteers using colour-coded spring balance within 48 h of home birth. Household follow up of participants were undertaken less than 45 days after delivery to record the weight of their infants. Of the 639 postpartum women who took part in the follow up interview, information on birthweight was available from 605 singleton births. Among them, 65 (10.7 %) were born at home. Overall, the mean birthweight was 3,059 (SD 464) g and incidence of LBW was 16.5 % (95 % CI 13.5-19.5 %). However, the home-born infants reported significantly lower (p = 0.009) mean birthweight (2,920, SD 435 g) than their facility-born counterparts (3,078, SD 461 g). This difference in birthweight remained significant (p = 0.03) after adjustment for maternal and socio-demographic characteristics. Incidence of LBW in central Nepal was quite high. Home-born babies appeared to have lower birthweight and thus their inclusion could provide an accurate estimate of the LBW rate. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10609 10.1007/s10995-014-1489-9 restricted
spellingShingle Karkee, R.
Lee, Andy
Binns, Colin
Khanal, V.
Pokharel, P.
Incidence of Low Birthweight in Central Nepal: A Community-Based Prospective Cohort Study
title Incidence of Low Birthweight in Central Nepal: A Community-Based Prospective Cohort Study
title_full Incidence of Low Birthweight in Central Nepal: A Community-Based Prospective Cohort Study
title_fullStr Incidence of Low Birthweight in Central Nepal: A Community-Based Prospective Cohort Study
title_full_unstemmed Incidence of Low Birthweight in Central Nepal: A Community-Based Prospective Cohort Study
title_short Incidence of Low Birthweight in Central Nepal: A Community-Based Prospective Cohort Study
title_sort incidence of low birthweight in central nepal: a community-based prospective cohort study
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10609