PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT AMONG NEWBORN BABIES IN DESSIE TOWN HEALTH INSTITUTIONS AMHARA REGION, ETHIOPIA

Introduction: Globally, more than 20 million infants are born with Low Birth Weight and a
larger proportion of these concentrating in Asia and Africa. Africa has a reported incidence of
14.3 %.Children born with low birth weight are more likely to die prematurely compared to
infants of normal birth weight. Likewise, these children experience more morbidity, both in the
short and long term. Therefore, it is clear that low birth weight represents a heavy burden for
healthcare services worldwide.
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of low birth
weight among newborn babies in Dessie town health institutions, Amhara region, Ethiopia.
Method: An institutional based cross sectional study design was conducted to assess the
prevalence and associated factors of low birth weight among newborn babies in Dessie town
health institutions. The data was collected using a semi-structured pre-tested interviewer guided
questionnaire. Data was cleaned manually, coded and entered into Epi -info version 7 and
analysed by SPSS version 20 statistical software.Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression
analyses were employed to identify associated factors for low birth weight.After bivariate
regression analysis, variables with P value less than 0.2 were included in multivariable logistic
regression. Adjusted odd ratio along with 95% CI was calculated to see strength of association
and P<0.05 was taken as level of statistical significance