Predisposing Factors to Risk of Low Birth Weight in Premature Baby in Bengkulu Indonesia

Introduction: Birth weight is the most important factor which determines the survival of newborns. Low birth weight (LBW) is one of the challenges in maternal and child health and most are caused by preterm labor. Exposure to prenatal or postnatal cigarette smoke has a detrimental effect on fetal and infant health including premature birth. This study was conducted in Bengkulu Province which aims to determine the magnitude of maternal predisposing factors influence on the LBW in preterm birth.

Method: This was research with a cross-sectional design which used a questionnaire on 95 premature babies born in January to October 2018 in the Bengkulu Province, Indonesia. Predisposing factors studied including smokers in family members, mother’s age, mother’s education level, mother’s occupation, gestational age and gender of the baby. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression.

Result: On average, premature babies were born at 32.9 weeks of gestation, 81.1% of babies born with LBW, most of the samples have family member who smokes (85.3%), most mothers participated aged 26-35 years (46.3%), most mother’s education level was moderate (45.3%), and most mother’s occupation was house wived (70.5%). In the multivariate variable analysis, the predisposing risk of experiencing very low birth weight (VLBW) including smoker in a family member (OR=8.79, 95% CI 1.54-50.35), gestational age (OR=0.63, 95% CI 0.49-0.82), and mother’s age of 26-35 years (OR=1.47, 95% CI 1.59-134.73).

Conclusion: Smoker in a family member, Mother’s age, gestation age, and Mother’s private employee has a significant risk of LBW in premature babies in Bengkulu Province.