Effect of Maternal Nutritional Status on Birth Outcome

Abstract

The present cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to assess the nutritional status, maternal haemoglobin concentration, anthropometric details and its association with neonatal anthropometry. 200 pregnant women aged 18-37 years in the gestational age of 27-41 weeks, without any co-morbidity and having a complete medical record were included in the study. Pregnant women who were in labour in the maternity ward and had visited the tertiary centre in Mumbai for antenatal checkups were enrolled for the study. Predesigned, pretested questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic and pregnancy details along with 24-hour dietary recall taken prior to delivery. Maternal and neonatal anthropometry was measured by trained personnel using standardized techniques. Haemoglobin concentration prior to delivery and postpartum, birth weight and length was obtained from the hospital record. Analyses were performed using SPSS software (version 16.0) to determine the effect of nutritional status on birth outcome. P-value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. The mean maternal anthropometric details were height-153.13±10.39cm, postpartum weight-57.02±11.57kg, postpartum BMI-24.29±3.54kg/m², haemoglobin concentration prior to delivery-11.19±1.78g/dL and post-partum-9.97±1.68g/dL. The mean neonatal birth weight was 2.77±0.50kg though 22.3% neonates had low birth weight (<2.5kg). The mean neonatal anthropometric details were length-45.72±1.14cm, MUAC-10.48±1.14cm, ponderal index-2.88±0.43g/cm³ and MUAC/Head circumference-0.31±0.03. However, women (≥28 years) were older (+2.46 years), weighed more both pre- and post-partum and also had a higher interpregnancy interval (+1.3 years) and gravida as compared to women (≤27 years) (p<0.05). Birth outcome was influenced by maternal height, weight, postpartum BMI, haemoglobin levels prior to delivery, gestational age and nutrient intake particularly energy, protein, vitamin C and calcium. Maternal diet prior to pregnancy and during pregnancy along with maternal anthropometry, haemoglobin concentrations prior to delivery and gestational age greatly influences birth outcome. Thus, attention has to be given to nutrition of an adolescent girl by proper nutrition education, pre-pregnancy counseling which will help in better pregnancy outcome.