Establishment of a low birth weight registry and initial outcomes

The study was conducted to evaluate a regional, prospective database of information on mothers of low birth weight (LBW) infants. The database informs on unidentified or under-reported modifiable risk factors from which evidence-based, targeted community intervention strategies could be designed to lower the rate of low birth weight in the region. The LBW Registry is based on informed consent, a semi-structured face-to-face (FTF) interview with the mother of the newborn LBW infant, medical record review, and birth certificate worksheet data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data from the registry. High rates of modifiable risk factors among mothers of low birth weight infants (October 2007-October 2008) include smoking (44%), alcohol consumption (16%), and drug abuse (14%). Preconception vitamin use was low (34%). The reported use of fertility drugs in FTF interviews was notably higher than information reported on the birth certificate worksheets by the same set of interviewed mothers (5.4 vs. 1.5%), as was alcohol use during pregnancy (16 vs. 1.3%). More than half (52%) of the mothers of low birth weight infants reported a vaginal or urinary tract infection during pregnancy. Additionally there were higher than average rates of unmarried mothers (62%), unintended pregnancies (67%), and Medicaid beneficiaries (57%). Mothers repeatedly expressed excessive demands in their lives, straining their coping abilities and resources. The LBW Registry provides expanded local data on potentially modifiable risk factors to aid in designing targeted prevention and intervention strategies.