The effect of mother's age, parity and antenatal clinic attendance on infant birth weight

Abstract

Data from 252 deliveries at a rural hospital during 1988 and 1989 showed that infants born to adolescent mothers had the lowest mean birth weight and highest incidence of low birth weight. Adolescent mothers were, in general, mothers with low parity levels, and the highest incidence of low birth weight was observed in mothers of parity 0 or 1. Average birth weights were higher at parity levels of 4 and 5. Although almost every woman attended the antenatal clinic, women who attended the clinic more than 3 times during pregnancy tended to have higher birth weight infants. More detailed data from 40 of these deliveries suggested that low family socioeconomic status and household food insecurity during pregnancy are also associated with lower birth weight infants.