Effect of prenatal exposure to kitchen fuel on birth weight
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Published on: February 28, 2025
Yugantara Ramesh Kadam1, Anugya Mimansa, Pragati Vishnu Chavan
1Department of PSM, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University Medical College and Hospital, Sangli, Maharashtra, India.
Background:
Maternal exposure to kitchen fuel smoke may lead to impaired fetal growth.
Objective:
To study the effect of exposure to various kitchen fuels on birth weight.
Study Type:
Retrospective analytical.
Study Setting:
Hospital based.
Study Subjects:
Mothers and their newborns.
Inclusion Criteria:
Mothers registered in first trimester with minimum 3 visits, non-anemic, full-term, and singleton delivery.
Exclusion Criteria:
History of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH), Diabetes Mellitus (DM), tobacco chewers or mishri users.
Sample Size:
328 mothers and their new-borne.
Study Period:
Six months. Study tools: Chi-square, Z-test, ANOVA, and binary logistic regression.
Results:
Effect of confounders on birth weight was tested and found to be non-significant. Mean ± SD of birth weight was 2.669 ± 0.442 in Liquid Petroleium Gas (LPG) users (n = 178), 2.465 ± 0.465 in wood users (n = 94), 2.557 ± 0.603 in LPG + wood users (n = 27) and 2.617 ± 0.470 in kerosene users (n = 29). Infants born to wood users had lowest birth weight and averagely 204 g lighter than LPG users (F = 4.056, P < 0.01). Percentage of newborns with low birth weight (LBW) in wood users was 44.68% which was significantly higher than in LPG users (24.16%), LPG + wood users (40.74%) and in kerosene users (34.48%) (Chi-square = 12.926, P < 0.01). As duration of exposure to wood fuel increases there is significant decline in birth weight (F = 3.825, P < 0.05). By using logistic regression type of fuel is only best predictor.
Conclusion:
Cooking with wood fuel is a significant risk-factor for LBW, which is modifiable.
