Association between quality of prenatal care and low birth weight in Peru

Tolentino-Izquierdo A.; de la Vega M.A.T.D.; Romaní-Romaní F. · Anales de la Facultad de Medicina (2024) · DOI: 10.15381/anales.v85i3.27974

Resumen

Introduction. In Peru, few studies have adequately evaluated whether prenatal care in health facilities protects against low birth weight in children. Objective. To determine the association between the quality of prenatal care and low birth weight (LBW) in Peru. Methods. Cross-sectional study of secondary data source from the 2021 Peruvian Demographic and Family Health Survey. The exposure was the quality of prenatal care determined by three dimensions: number of controls, timing of the first control and compliance with scheduled interventions. The quality of prenatal care was "adequate" when all three components were correctly met. The BNP corresponded to less than 2500 grams. Results. We analyzed data from 18,484 women and their respective children. Among those born at term, 2.9% had LBW. The 85.9% had 6 or more prenatal controls. The 79.8% had their first check-up in the first trimester of gestation. 47.4% complied with the nine components of prenatal care. There was no association between inadequate quality of prenatal care and LBW (OR = 1.14; 95%CI: 0.86 to 1.52; p = 0.360). Women with fewer than 6 controls had 57% higher odds of LBW compared to infants whose mothers had 6 or more controls (95%CI: 1.11 to 2.23; p = 0.012). Conclusions. In term gestations, we found no association between quality of prenatal care and LBW. Pregnant women with less than 6 prenatal care visits had a higher risk of a LBW newborn.

Instituciones: Universidad de Piura