Low birth weight in Bangladesh and associated maternal and socioeconomic factors: results from a recent nationally-representative survey

ABSTRACT Objectives Little is known about the relative contributions of maternal and socioeconomic factors on low birth weight in Bangladesh and whether they differ by sex. We examined the prevalence and associated maternal and socioeconomic factors of low birth weight separately among boys and girls. Design and settings This is a cross-sectional study based on the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2014. Participants A total of 4728 children with information on birth size were included in this study. Outcome measure Low birth weight was defined according to mother’s perception of birth size of their children. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between maternal and socioeconomic factors with low birth weight. Results The overall prevalence of low birth…