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  • Title: Factors associated with birthweight in Bahrain.
    Author: Musaiger AO.
    Journal: J Trop Med Hyg; 1985 Feb; 88(1):31-6. PubMed ID: 4020931.
    Abstract:
    The birthweights of 6793 infants, based on birth notification forms, were analysed to determine the influence of sex, geographical location, mother's nationality, mother's age, interval between births and number of past deliveries on the birthweight distribution. It was found that these factors contributed significantly to birthweight of the newborn, except for the mother's nationality and the number of past deliveries which were not significant contributory factors. To provide information on the birthweight in Bahrain and to determine its association with various demographic and maternal factors, the birthweights of 6793 infants were analyzed. The data for this study were based on the birth notification forms. All the 1980 birth notification forms in Bahrain were reviewed and analyzed, and the sample of 6793 studied represents 67% of the total number of registered births for 1980. There was no statistically significant difference between the sex of infants in the samples included and excluded, but there was a significant difference between the distribution of the mother's age in the 2 samples. 6 factors were studied: sex, geographic location, mother's nationality, maternal age, interval between births, and number of past deliveries. Infants with birthweights less than 2500 g were considered as having low birthweight. Geographical location was divided into urban and rural areas. Of the 6793 infants studied, 3495 were males and 3298 were females. The mean birthweight of all infants was 3170 g. The mean birthweight for males was 3223 g; the birthweight for females was 3140 g. The sex ratio was 1.1 to 1. The correlation between sex and low birthweight was statistically significant. The proportion with low birthweight was higher in rural (8.5%) compared to urban areas (6.5%). About 29% of infants in urban areas weighed more than 3500 g, compared to 21.7% in rural areas. A significant statistical difference was observed. There was no significant difference between the mother's nationality and birthweight, but there was a high statistically significant difference between the age of the mother and birthweight. As the age of the mother increased, the weight of the baby increased. Mothers were least likely to bear low birthweight babies when the interval between births was greater than 24 months. As the interval between births increased, the incidence of birthweights in excess of 3500 g increased. The difference was highly significant. The incidence of low birthweight slightly increased as the number of past deliveries increased. The percentage was 6.1% for mothers who had 1-3 previous deliveries, compared with 6.4% and 7.2% for mothers who had 4-6 and more than 6 previous deliveries, respectively. There was no significant difference in the distribution.
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