Prevalence and factors associated with low birth weight in Axum and Laelay Maichew Districts, North Ethiopia: A comparative cross sectional study

Background: Weight at birth is a good indicator of the newborn’s chances for survival, growth, long-term health and psychosocial development. Low birth weight babies are significantly at risk of death, contributing to the high perinatal morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia. Therefore, the aimed of this study is to assess the prevalence and associated factors of Low Birth Weight in Axum and Laelay Maichew districts, Tigray, north Ethiopia. Method: An institution based comparative cross-sectional study using consecutive sampling technique was used to select a sample of 520 live birth neonates from both urban and rural districts. Data was collected from mothers’ using a structured interview questionnaire. The data were entered in to Epi-Info and analyzed on SPSS. Means and standard deviations of birth weight were calculated using the t-test. The chisquare (X 2 ) test was computed to compare proportions of low birth weight with 95% Confidence Interval. Binary and multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors. Result: The prevalence of low birth weight was 9.9% and 6.3% in Axum and Laelay Maichew districts, respectively. In Axum district (Urban): low birth weight was associated with inadequate ANC service utilization [AOR=0.29, 95% CI:(0.12, 0.73)] and unwanted pregnancy [AOR=4.04, 95% CI:(1.17, 13.90)]. Sex of the neonate [AOR=6.08, 95% CI:(1.60, 23.07)] and pregnancy type [AOR=7.34, 95% CI:(2.050, 26.292)] were also significantly associated with low birth weight in Laelay Maichew district (rural). Conclusion and Recommendation: The prevalence of low birth weight was 9.9% and 6.3% in Axum and Laelay Maichew districts, respectively. The burden of low birth weight deliveries in these areas are associated with inadequate ANC service utilization, unwanted pregnancy and female sex of the neonate which deserve goal oriented prenatal care and choice based family planning service provision by the respective health facilities.