The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting low birth weight (LBW) at four central
hospitals in Vientiane, the capital city of Lao PDR. We collected data from 235 mothers with LBW babies
and 265 with babies of normal birth weight (NBW) who had delivered them at four central hospitals from
March to June of 2008. Among the mothers of LBW babies, 84.7% were aged 18–35 years, 7.7% aged
<18 years, and another 7.7% aged >35 years, while the corresponding figures among those with NBW
babies were 97.7%, 1.1%, and 1.1%, respectively. The mothers in a low income group earning <1 million
Kips (1 USD=8,700 Kips) per month numbered 68.9% for the LBW group and 15.1% for the NBW
group. We estimated both odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to explore associations
between LBW outcomes and related factors. Significant associations with LBW were found for delivery
at age <18 years (OR=8.6, 95% CI=2.4–30.7), monthly family income <1 million Kips (OR=13.9, 95%
CI=8.8–21.9), physical labor during pregnancy (OR=5.0, 95% CI=3.1–8.1), and first child birth (OR=2.2,
95% CI=1.5–3.3). Mothers with an inadequate level of knowledge regarding healthy pregnancy practices
were at 10.1 times higher risk of developing LBW babies (95% CI=6.7–15.2). Mothers lacking adequate
nutritional practices were more prone to deliver LBW babies with an OR of 8.9 (95% CI=5.6–14.3). The
ORs of LBW babies for those factors were high among Lao mothers. Improving a mother’s knowledge
of and practice for a healthy pregnancy needs to be emphasized to reverse these LBW trends.
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