Magnitude of Low Birth Weight and Associated Factors among Women who gave Birth in Public Hospitals of Harari Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia

Background: Low birth weight remains a public health challenge in developing worlds. Globally, low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of early neonatal mortality and morbidity. The primary causes of low birth weight are related to maternal risk factors. For instance; maternal under nutrition, maternal anemia, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are associated with low birth weight. Although it remains one of the top challenges of adverse birth outcome, predictors of low birth weight are rarely Eastern studied in Ethiopia. To the best knowledge of the researchers, the magnitude of low birth weight is not studied in this study area. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the magnitude of low birth weight and associated factors among women who gave birth in public Hospitals of Harari Regional state, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 403 women who deliverd in public hospitals of Harari Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia from February 10th to March 20th, 2019. A systematic sampling technique was used to select study participants. Data were collected using pretested structured interviews administered questionnaires. The collected data were entered into Epi-data version 3.1, and exported to SPSS (IBM version 22) for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics were carried out using frequency tables, proportion and summary measures. Multivariable analysis was done to identify the true effects of predictor variables on the outcome variable after controlling for possible confounders. Statistical significance was declared at p-value <0.05. Result: Overall, the magnitude of low birth weight was 23.3% [( 95% CI (19.0, 28.0)]. In final model of multivariable analysis; unplanned pregnancy [AOR=4.7;95%CI (2.4, 8.9)], maternal mid upper arm circumference less than 23cm[AOR=3.5;95%CI (1.8, 6.0)], substance use in current pregnancy[AOR=5.0; 95%CI(2.5, 10.0)], maternal anemia [AOR=2.3; 95%CI (1.2, 4.4)], a history of hyperemesis in current pregnancy[AOR=4.5,95 % CI =2.3, 9.0)] and having no history of antenatal care follow-up in current pregnancy [AOR=5.4; 95 % CI =2.5, 12.9)] were statistically associated with low birth weight. The conclusion: The magnitude of low birth weight was relatively high in this study area compared to national and global targets. Therefore, efforts should be emphasized on ensuring women’s nutritional status during pregnancy, and creating awareness on the potential risks of substance use for unborn fetus. Health information dissemination on the utilization of ANC service is also very crucial to improve the birth weight of newborn babies. Keywords: Low birth weight, associated factors, predictors, Eastern Ethiopia