European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Background: Every year, 60% to 80% of all newborn deaths are caused by low birth weight (LBW). Low birth weight is a significant public health issue in developing nations like India. The objective of this study was to assess the magnitude and associated factors of low birth weight in a tertiary care hospital of northern India.  Methods: This was across-sectional study conducted at tertiary care Hospital. A total of 650 individuals in the study were chosen via systematic sampling. Data were gathered using a standardised questionnaire that had been pre-tested. Epi Info V7 was used to analyse the data. To find related factors, bivariate and multiple logistic regression were utilised. An association was deemed statistically significant at a 0.05 p-value. Results: In this study, the magnitude of low birth weight was 14.2%. A low birth weight was three times more frequent in women with a history of chronic disease than in those without such a history [AOR=3.04(1.04,9.02)]. Pregnant women with haemoglobin levels below 11 g/dl had a higher risk of having babies with low birth weights than those with haemoglobin levels above 11 g/dl [AOR=3.06(1.08,8.96)]. Contrary to those who did, women who did not take iron/folic acid supplements during their pregnancies had a higher risk of having babies with low birth weights [AOR=0.28(0.12,0.78)]. The odds of having a low birth weight were higher for pregnant women who did not eat extra food or meals during their pregnancy than for those who did [AOR=0.26(0.11, 0.73)]. Conclusions: Hemoglobin level, iron/folic acid supplementation, extra meals during pregnancy, and a history of chronic medical conditions were all found to be significant predictors of low birth weight. To lower the risk of low birth weight, it is crucial to encourage pregnant women to take iron together with folic acid and extra meals