Correlation of Maternal Nutritional Status with Anthropometry of baby at Birth

Introduction : Maternal nutrition plays a vital role in fetal growth and birth outcomes. Maternal nutritional status can be assessed by maternal weight, maternal height, body mass index (BMI) and mid-arm circumference. Maternal anthropometric measurements afford a simple, rapid and inexpensive method of assessing maternal nutritional status. Fetal outcome can be assessed by birth weight, length and head circumference. Recent studies have shown that maternal nutritional status influence the anthropometry of baby. This study is conducted to determine correlation between maternal nutritional status with anthropometry of baby at birth. Methods:This is a hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted at Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital (NMCTH), Attarkhel, Kathmandu, over a period of one year from January 2020 to December 2020. 140 pregnant women who came for delivery in NMCTH and their babies of current pregnancy were enrolled in the study. Maternal weight, height, Body mass index (BMI) and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) were recorded. Birth weight, length and head circumference (HC) of neonate was also recorded. Mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficient and regression coefficients of various anthropometric parameters were calculated.  Results : Out of 140 pregnant women who delivered in NMCTH, the mean maternal weight, height, MUAC, BMI were 63.91 ±7.64 kg, 1.55 ± 0.04 m, 26.08 ± 2.08 cm and 26.56 ± 3.07 kg/m2 respectively. The mean birth weight, length, HC were 3327.72 ± 470.73 gm, 50.09 ± 1.64 cm and 34.19 ± 1.07 cm respectively. The maternal weight had significant positive correlation with birth weight (r=0.817, P<0.001), newborn’s length (r=0.325, P<0.001) and HC (r=0.336, P<0.001). The maternal height had moderate positive correlation with birth weight (r=0.339, P<0.001), length (r=0.327, P<0.001) and HC (r=0.360, P<0.001). The maternal BMI had strong positive correlation with birth weight (r=0.670, P<0.001), weak positive correlation with newborn’s length (r=0.171, p=0.044) but no correlation with newborn’s HC (r=0.162, P=0.057). The maternal MUAC had moderate positive correlation with birth weight (r=0.347, P<0.001). However, no significant correlation was found between maternal MUAC with newborn’s length and HC. Conclusion : The present study revealed that maternal nutritional status affect the anthropometry of baby. Hence, maternal nutrition should be improved in order to improve the outcome of babies.