IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i3p1384-d734725.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Inequalities in Birth Weight in Relation to Maternal Factors: A Population-Based Study of 3,813,757 Live Births

Author

Listed:
  • Agnieszka Genowska

    (Department of Public Health, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-295 Bialystok, Poland)

  • Radosław Motkowski

    (Department of Pediatrics, Rheumatology, Immunology and Metabolic Bone Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, University Children’s Hospital, 15-274 Bialystok, Poland)

  • Vaiva Strukcinskaite

    (Faculty of Health Care, Vilnius University of Applied Sciences, LT-08303 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Paweł Abramowicz

    (Department of Pediatrics, Rheumatology, Immunology and Metabolic Bone Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, University Children’s Hospital, 15-274 Bialystok, Poland)

  • Jerzy Konstantynowicz

    (Department of Pediatrics, Rheumatology, Immunology and Metabolic Bone Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, University Children’s Hospital, 15-274 Bialystok, Poland)

Abstract

Background: Despite numerous studies of women having children later in life, evidence of the relationship between maternal factors and newborn outcomes in Central and Eastern European countries is limited. This study aimed to examine the association between maternal age, biological determinants, including parity and sex of the newborn, demographic and social background, and birth weight in 3.8 million singleton live births in Poland. Methods: The effect of maternal age on birth weight (in grams and Z-scores) adjusted for confounders was assessed using Generalized Linear Models. Results: The mean (±SD) birth weights of neonates born to primiparous women and multiparous women were 3356.3 ± 524.9 g and 3422.7 ± 538.6 g, respectively, which corresponded to a Z-score of −0.07 ± 0.96 and 0.14 ± 1.00, respectively ( p ≤ 0.001). After controlling for biological, demographic, and social factors, a significant decrease in birth weight was found for primiparous women of the age group ≥30 years and multiparous women aged ≥35 years compared to the age group of 25–29 years. The lowest neonatal birth weight was observed in the case of women aged ≥45 years. Confounders did not affect birth weight Z-scores among primiparous women, whereas among multiparous women, together with educational factors, they reversed Z-scores from positive to negative values. The lower birth weight of neonates was overall associated with lower maternal education. Conclusions: Regardless of parity, advanced maternal age is strongly associated with a decreased neonatal birth weight, implying complications in early pregnancy and the antenatal period as well as obstetric complications. Counseling to support women’s family planning decisions and improving women’s education during their reproductive age may help to alleviate unfavorable newborn outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Agnieszka Genowska & Radosław Motkowski & Vaiva Strukcinskaite & Paweł Abramowicz & Jerzy Konstantynowicz, 2022. "Inequalities in Birth Weight in Relation to Maternal Factors: A Population-Based Study of 3,813,757 Live Births," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1384-:d:734725
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1384/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1384/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Krystyna R. Isaacs & Sravanthi Atreyapurapu & Amal H. Alyusuf & David M. Ledgerwood & Loretta P. Finnegan & Katie H. K. Chang & Tony X. Ma & Yukiko Washio, 2021. "Neonatal Outcomes after Combined Opioid and Nicotine Exposure in Utero: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Manuela Pfinder, 2014. "Anthropometric and Health-Related Behavioral Factors in the Explanation of Social Inequalities in Low Birth Weight in Children with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1384-:d:734725. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.