[Factors associated with low birth weight: a multivariate analysis].

The low birth weight of infants is a major public health problem of unknown cause in Benin. We recruited 4,213 pregnant women from a maternity ward in Cotonou for a prospective study. The women were interviewed and further information was obtained from their maternity records. The women were followed until delivery. We found that 6.9% of the births occurred pre-term and there was intrauterine growth retardation in 10.9% of cases. Multiple regression analysis showed that the risks of giving birth to underweight infants were highest for women who were themselves underweight, who had complications due to bleeding or malaria or had social and psychological risk factors. For these particular women, unwanted pregnancy (ORa = 1.60; CI = 1.30-2.00) and lifting heavy loads (ORa = 1.30; CI = 1.10-1.60) were high risk factors. However, adequate prenatal care (ORa = 0.85; CI = 0.69-0.99) and having given birth before were protective factors, reducing the likelihood of a low birth weight. These results have implications for preventive care, in terms of nutrition during pregnancy and psychosociological factors.