Exploring the interplay of maternal anemia and BMI in determining low birth weight among rural Indian children: evidence from NFHS-5.

Authors

Mithun Sarkar, Koyel Majumder, Bikash Barman, Pradip Chouhan

Published in

Journal of health, population, and nutrition. Jul 03, 2026. Epub Jul 03, 2026.

Abstract

Low birth weight (LBW) is a serious global health issue that is indicative of an increased risk of newborn illness and mortality. LBW refers to a newborn weighing under 2,500 g (5.5 pounds) at birth, primarily due to either poor fetal growth, premature labor, or both. It is more prevalent in low and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.
The entire study has been completed with the help of secondary data collected from the NFHS-5 of India, a cross-sectional national representative survey conducted from 2019 to 2021. In this study, the low birth weight of children is considered as an outcome variable. Based on previous research, various socio-economic and demographic variables were selected in this study. This study used Pearson's chi-square statistics and multivariable binary logistic regression to identify the association between low birth weight of children and maternal anemia and BMI (Body Mass Index). And descriptive statistics is also performed to analyze the data.
The result shows that there is significant association between the maternal anemia and BMI with the occurrence of low birth weight. It is found that the occurrence of low birth weight is higher among severely anemic women and underweight women. Additionally, the prevalence of LBW is high among those women who use cigarettes and tobacco, and those children of multiparity, are female children, and are from central, western, and northern regions.
So, it can be said that maternal anaemia and BMI is correlated with the prevalence of low birth weight among children. Hence, implementing appropriate interventions for pregnancy care and ensuring well-planned nutrition can significantly alleviate the challenges associated with LBW in India.

PMID:
42400052
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 04 Jul 2026.

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