Short Interpregnancy Interval and Low Birth Weight

Objective: To determine the frequency of Low Birth Weight among women with short interpregnancy interval. Study Design: Descriptive case series. Study Setting: Study was conducted at Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics Unit 1, Civil Hospital, Karachi. Duration of Study: Six months after approval of synopsis from 22-12-15 till 22-06-16. Subjects and Methods: Data was prospectively collected from patients after taking a verbal consent. 384 women with short interval pregnancy were included. Quantitative data was presented as simple descriptive statistics giving mean and standard deviation and qualitative variables was presented as frequency and percentages. Effect modifiers were controlled through stratification to see the effect of these on the outcome variable. Post stratification chi square test was applied taking p-value of ≤0.05 as significant. Results: Out of 384 patients mean age and BMI in our study was 29.56±3.91 years and 30.72±1.34 kg/m2 respectively. 135 (35.2%) and 249 (64.8%) had and did not have low birth weight respectively. Conclusion: Our study confirmed that short IPI is an independent risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes like low birth weight. These finding emphasize the importance of providing support for family planning programs which will support optimal IPI and improve pregnancy outcomes. Keywords: Short interpregnancy interval and low birth weight.