Maheen Badrashi, Ayesha Imtiaz, Hamid Hussain, Bilal Ahmad.
Comparison of Maternal Nutritional status in Premature and Intra Uterine Growth Restricted Neonates in Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar.
J Saidu Med Col Jan ;8(2):187-94.

Background: Low Birth weight (LBW) is a major determinant of infant mortality and adverse health outcomes. LBW mainly results from prematurity or Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR). Pakistan has low birth weight rate of 32% and fourth highest number of preterm births in the world. LBW in developing countries mainly results from poor maternal health and nutritional status. Objectives: To compare the maternal nutritional status in premature and IUGR neonates Material and Methods: A cross sectional comparative study was conducted in neonatal care unit of Hayatabad Medical Complex, of Peshawar, over a period of six months. 250 LBW newborns and their mothers were included in the study, using consecutive sampling technique. Newborns with birth weight < 2.5 kg were defined as LBW. LBW newborns were divided in Premature (Between 28 & 37completed weeks of gestation)and IUGR (birth weight < 2.5 kg & gestational age > 37 weeks). Maternal nutrition status was assessed by measuring dietary intake, hemoglobin level estimation and Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation. Chi-square test was applied to determine the association of maternal nutritional status with prematurity and IUGR in newborns. At 95% Confidence level, p value <0.05 was taken significant. Results: Analysis showed that among 250 newborns, 150 (60%)were males. Low birth weight of newborns was mainly due to IUGR147 (58.8%).Socio-demographic characteristics showed that 193 (77.2%) mothers were uneducated and 174 (69.6%) mothers were below 20 yrs of age. Maternal nutritional assessment indicated, low caloric dietary intake in 139 (55.6%) mothers and hemoglobin level of less than 11gm/dl in152 (60.8%) mothers, while BMI data analysis showed that 62 (24.8%) mothers were underweight and 25 (10%) were overweight. Overall, there was no significant association between maternal nutrition status and prematurity or IUGR. Conclusion: LBW was mainly due to IUGR. However, our study could not establish association of IUGR/Prematurity with maternal nutrition status.

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