A prospective case-control study involving 75 low birthweight (LBW) babies
and 224 controls was carried out at the Mount Hagen General Hospital over a
period of 7 months, from June to December 1997. Identified risk factors fo
r LBW in this population included maternal age (age less than 22 years or o
ver 35 years, p = 0.03), a birth interval of less than 2 years (p = 0.006),
no antenatal booking (p = <0.005), low attendance at antenatal clinic (p =
<0.005), fever during pregnancy (p = <0.005), PET (p = 0.05), APH (p = <0.
015), and maternal smoking during pregnancy (p = 0.008). Other well-establi
shed risk factors for LBW, i.e. small stature, low body mass index (BMI), h
aemoglobin less than 8 g/dl, and low educational attainment, appeared to be
more frequent in the mothers of the LBW babies than the controls but diffe
rences did not reach statistical significance. The results suggest the need
for improved provision of, and efforts to increase the use of, antenatal a
nd family planning services. The results also provide clear evidence of the
deleterious effects of smoking during pregnancy in a developing country.