| Abstract: | As infants with low birth weights (LBWs) constitute a group in need of specialized care, the problems of LBW among the Hausas of Nigeria were evaluated. The case records of all liveborn infants of Hausa parents, born at the Maternity Hospital in Katsina, Nigeria between January 1, 1974 and December 31, 1977, were selected for study. The LBW infants i.e., those weighing 2500 g or below were separated, their characteristics studied, and possible etiological factors identified. A comparison of this group was then made with those neonates who weighed more than 2500 g. The duration of gestation was determined from the menstrual history and by appropriate clinical examination before delivery. As data were not considered to be very reliable, no attempt was made to correlate the birth weights with duration of pregnancy. Infants born before the 37th week of pregnancy were labeled as premature. During the study period, 3890 live Hausa infants (2111 males and 1779 females) were born to 3780 mothers. Of these 3890 infants, 408 males and 420 females weighed 2500 g or less. These 828 infants were born to 774 mothers and included 91 sets of twins and 5 sets of triplets though the outcome of all multiple pregnancies were not live births. The maternal age ranged from 13-45 years. The parity ranged from 0-14 but there were more primigravida compared to other parities. All mothers belonged to lower and middle socioeconomic classes. 70% were urban and 30% were rural. The incidence of LBW was 213/1000 live births or 21.3%. 71.1% of these babies weighed between 2000 g and 2500 g; only 1.6% weighed less than 1000 g. The percentage of females among LBW infants was higher (50.7%) as compared to that of males (49.3%). The incidence of LBW was 19.3% among males and 23.6% among females. The monthly and seasonal incidence of LBW was uniform and no seasonal variation could be found. The incidence of LBW was 18.4% among urban women and 23.4% among rural women. The difference was highly significant. The highest percentage of deaths in the present study occurred among infants weighing less than 1000 g and the immediate neonatal death rate declined in each successive higher weight group, exhibiting a strong relationship between LBW and immediate neonatal mortality. Only 1 child died out of 589 who weighed between 2001-2500 g. |
