Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #108983

Gilberto Ramos-Valencia, DrPH, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, UPR School of Public Heath, P.O. Box 365067, San Juan, PR 00936-5067, 787-758-2525 ext 1427, gramos@rcm.upr.edu

The objective of this study was to determine risk factors asociated to low birthweight in Puerto Rico. The design was a matched case-control study. Twenty-eight hospitals randomly selected from the six health regions of Puerto Rico participated in this study between July 1999 and May 2000. Babies whose birthweight was below five pounds and eight ounces were defined as cases while those whose weight was above five pounds and eight ounces were defined as controls. The cases and the controls were matched by gender and were chosen randomly from the same hospital. Multivariate analysis indicated that pre-eclampsia, weight gained during pregnancy, body mass index, vaginal bleeding during the first trimester, high blood pressure, number of prenatal visits and trying to commit suicide were associated with low birthweight. The intention to commit suicide is an important risk factor since those women who experienced this had five times the risk of delivering a low birthweight than those who didn't. The study helps the Health Department in the development of a plan to promote the use of prenatal services during pregnancy; incorporate screening tests that are able to identify early during pregnancy clinical, social, environmental and emotional risk factors; develop programs that identify women at risk of delivering low birth weight babies; strengthen orientation offered to women during prenatal visits so they are able to identify and manage any health problems during pregnancy and educate women in reproductive age about the importance of having a good nutrition and the required body weight

Learning Objectives:

• To evaluate the importance of identifying women at risk of delivering low birthweight babies 2 To identify those risk factors associated with delivering a low birth weight baby in Puerto Rico
• To develop guidelines to improve prenatal care.
• To learn the important role that emotional risk factors play during pregnancy

Keywords: Maternal Health, Low Birthweight

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.