Predictors of low birth weight: a hospital-based matched case-control study in the Ashanti region, Ghana

Birth weight is an important measure for determining the health and development of newborns. Epidemiological findings indicate that infants with low birth weight (LBW) face a 20-fold higher chance of dying than those with normal birth weight. This study aimed to examine the factors associated with LBW at KNUST Hospital.

A facility-based matched case-control study design was used. The study included all babies born at KNUST Hospital between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. Infants born with birth defects and those born from multiple births were excluded from the study. A total of 67 cases (birth weight < 2.5 kg) were identified and matched with 134 controls (birth weight ≥ 2.5 kg) based on maternal age and sex of the baby. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the association between independent variables and LBW.

The study found that women with eight or more antenatal care (ANC) visits had 80% lower odds of delivering an LBW infant than their counterparts (AOR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.09-0.45). Women with hemoglobin levels ≥11 g/dL at registration had 86% lower odds of delivering an LBW infant than those with hemoglobin levels <11 g/dL (AOR = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.06-0.32). Each additional week of gestation at delivery was associated with a 41% reduction in the odds of low birth weight (AOR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.45-0.78).

Inadequate ANC, anemia during pregnancy, and low gestational age at delivery impacted LBW.