How Inadequate Antenatal Care (ANC) Services Are Responsible for the Occurrence of Low Birth Weight? Query from the Muslim Women of Maldah District, West Bengal, India

Low birth weight (if birth weight of newborn baby is less than 2500 grams) is one of the burning public health issues. Globally, more than 20 million infants are born with low birth weight; mainly it is prevailing in South Asian countries, and an estimated 7.5 million are from India. Proper utilization of antenatal care (ANC) services during pregnancy can reduce the occurrence of low birth weight. The present study attempts to show the role of inadequate antenatal care services for occurrence of low birth weight among the Muslim women of Maldah district of West Bengal. The entire study was based on primary data collected from 1120 Muslim women who had at least one live birth with the help of structured questionnaire. The result shows that about 55% of the Muslim women did not receive the recommended (at least 4 ANC visits) antenatal visits during their pregnancy and 31% of the women delivered newborn baby having low birth weight which is responsible for higher infant mortality as well as maternal mortality. The bivariate and multivariable analysis shows that the occurrence of low birth weight is more among those women who had not received all the required antenatal care services during pregnancy.