Factors Associated With Small Size at Birth in Nepal: Further Analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011
Background: The global Low Birth Weight (LBW) rate is reported to be 15.5% with more than 95% of these LBW infants being from developing countries. LBW is a major factor associated with neonatal deaths in developing countries. The determinants of low birth weight in Nepal have rarely been studied. T...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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BioMed Central Ltd
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17376 |
| _version_ | 1848749450248323072 |
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| author | Khanal, Vishnu Sauer, Kay Karkee, R. Zhao, Yun |
| author_facet | Khanal, Vishnu Sauer, Kay Karkee, R. Zhao, Yun |
| author_sort | Khanal, Vishnu |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: The global Low Birth Weight (LBW) rate is reported to be 15.5% with more than 95% of these LBW infants being from developing countries. LBW is a major factor associated with neonatal deaths in developing countries. The determinants of low birth weight in Nepal have rarely been studied. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with small size at birth among under-five children. Methods: Data from the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) were used. The association between small size at birth and explanatory variables were analysed using Chi-square tests (χ2) followed by logistic regression. Complex Sample Analysis was used to adjust for study design and sampling.Results: A total of 5240 mother- singleton under five child pairs were included in the analysis, of which 936 (16.0%) children were reported as small size at birth. Of 1922 infants whose birth weight was recorded, 235 (11.5%) infants had low birth weight (<2500 grams). The mean birth weight was 3030 grams (standard deviation: 648.249 grams). The mothers who had no antenatal visits were more likely (odds ratio (OR) 1.315; 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.042-1.661)) to have small size infants than those who had attended four or more antenatal visits. Mothers who lived in the Far-western development region were more likely to have (OR 1.698; 95% CI (1.228-2.349)) small size infants as compared to mothers from the Eastern development region. Female infants were more likely (OR 1.530; 95% CI (1.245-1.880)) to be at risk of being small than males. Conclusion: One in every six infants was reported to be small at birth. Attendance of antenatal care programs appeared to have a significant impact on birth size. Adequate antenatal care visits combined with counselling and nutritional supplementation should be a focus to reduce adverse birth outcomes such as small size at birth, especially in the geographically and economically disadvantaged areas such as Far-western region of Nepal. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:21:08Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-17376 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:21:08Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | BioMed Central Ltd |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-173762017-09-13T13:36:44Z Factors Associated With Small Size at Birth in Nepal: Further Analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011 Khanal, Vishnu Sauer, Kay Karkee, R. Zhao, Yun Antenatal care Low birth weight Nepal Cross sectional survey Background: The global Low Birth Weight (LBW) rate is reported to be 15.5% with more than 95% of these LBW infants being from developing countries. LBW is a major factor associated with neonatal deaths in developing countries. The determinants of low birth weight in Nepal have rarely been studied. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with small size at birth among under-five children. Methods: Data from the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) were used. The association between small size at birth and explanatory variables were analysed using Chi-square tests (χ2) followed by logistic regression. Complex Sample Analysis was used to adjust for study design and sampling.Results: A total of 5240 mother- singleton under five child pairs were included in the analysis, of which 936 (16.0%) children were reported as small size at birth. Of 1922 infants whose birth weight was recorded, 235 (11.5%) infants had low birth weight (<2500 grams). The mean birth weight was 3030 grams (standard deviation: 648.249 grams). The mothers who had no antenatal visits were more likely (odds ratio (OR) 1.315; 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.042-1.661)) to have small size infants than those who had attended four or more antenatal visits. Mothers who lived in the Far-western development region were more likely to have (OR 1.698; 95% CI (1.228-2.349)) small size infants as compared to mothers from the Eastern development region. Female infants were more likely (OR 1.530; 95% CI (1.245-1.880)) to be at risk of being small than males. Conclusion: One in every six infants was reported to be small at birth. Attendance of antenatal care programs appeared to have a significant impact on birth size. Adequate antenatal care visits combined with counselling and nutritional supplementation should be a focus to reduce adverse birth outcomes such as small size at birth, especially in the geographically and economically disadvantaged areas such as Far-western region of Nepal. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17376 10.1186/1471-2393-14-32 BioMed Central Ltd fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Antenatal care Low birth weight Nepal Cross sectional survey Khanal, Vishnu Sauer, Kay Karkee, R. Zhao, Yun Factors Associated With Small Size at Birth in Nepal: Further Analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011 |
| title | Factors Associated With Small Size at Birth in Nepal: Further Analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011 |
| title_full | Factors Associated With Small Size at Birth in Nepal: Further Analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011 |
| title_fullStr | Factors Associated With Small Size at Birth in Nepal: Further Analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Factors Associated With Small Size at Birth in Nepal: Further Analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011 |
| title_short | Factors Associated With Small Size at Birth in Nepal: Further Analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011 |
| title_sort | factors associated with small size at birth in nepal: further analysis of nepal demographic and health survey 2011 |
| topic | Antenatal care Low birth weight Nepal Cross sectional survey |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17376 |