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Risk factors for low birth weight among rural and urban Malaysian women

Kaur S 1 , Ng CM 1 , Badon SE 2 , Jalil RA 3 , Maykanathan D 1 , Yim HS 1 Show all authors , Jan Mohamed HJ 4

Affiliations 

  • 1 Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, California, USA
  • 3 School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
  • 4 School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia. hamidjan@usm.my
BMC Public Health, 2019 Jun 13;19(Suppl 4):539.
PMID: 31196034 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-6864-4

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Low birth weight prevalence in Malaysia remains high. Socioeconomic background may lead to differences in physical activity and maternal nutritional status, which may play an important role in birth outcomes.

METHODS: This prospective cross-sectional study aimed to identify rural-urban differences in risk factors for low birth weight among women in Malaysia. Pregnant women at ≥20 weeks of gestation in urban and rural Malaysia (n = 437) completed questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics and physical activity. Weight and middle-upper arm circumference were measured. Infant birth outcomes were extracted from medical records.

RESULTS: The overall prevalence of low birth weight infants was 6.38%. Rural women had more low birth weight infants than urban women (9.8% vs 2.0%, p = 0.03). Findings showed rural women were less sedentary (p = 0.003) and participated in more household/caregiving activities (p = 0.036), sports activities (p = 0.01) and less occupational activity (p 

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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