Anthropometric Measurements of Singleton Live Full-Term Newborns in Comparison to Who Standard at University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialised Hospital, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Anthropometry is a universally applicable, non-expensive, rapid and noninvasive technique used to evaluate and reflect the nutritional status of an individual. Anthropometric measurements of newborns reflect their general health, nutritional status and future survival by tracking trends in growth and development over time. It has also considerable significance in terms of determining the risk of death and extra uterine complications. Most previously conducted studies assessing newborn anthropometry had used birth weight as the sole parameter. But it is apparent that other anthropometric measurements, such as length and head circumference, are also important in predicting short-term and long-term outcomes. So this study assesses anthropometric measurements of singleton live full-term newborns at University of Gondar comprehensive specialised hospital, Ethiopia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 333 newborn from 5 June to 11 July 2022, in the maternity and neonatal ward of University of Gondar comprehensive specialised hospital. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. The Kobo toolbox software platform was used for data collection, and STATA software version 16 was used for analysis.

RESULTS

The mean birth weight, length and head circumference of the newborns in the current study were 2977 grams (95% CI: 2935.7, 3018.3), 47.05 centimeters (95% CI: 46.72-47.37) and 34.7 centimeters (95% CI: 34.6, 34.88), respectively. The prevalence of SGA (< 10th percentile) and LGA (> 90th percentile) was 20.12% and 6.01%, respectively. Independent samples t-test was done to see the association of newborn sex with anthropometric indices, and the result showed that the difference was statistically insignificant in all of anthropometric parameters.

CONCLUSION

This study of normal reference values will provide basic step for future standardisation of Ethiopian term newborns anthropometric parameters to be used for accurate assessment of newborns.

The effect of substance use during pregnancy on neonatal outcomes in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Substance use during pregnancy mainly khat chewing (20%) and alcohol drinking (18.1%) are commonly practiced in Ethiopia. However, the effect of using these substances has not been studied nationally yet. Thus, this study was aimed to examine national evidence about the effect of substance use during pregnancy on birth outcome in the country, 2020.

Methods

Primary studies were accessed through Google scholar, HINARI, SCOPUS and PubMed databases. The methodological and evidence quality of the included studies were critically appraised by the modified Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment tool scale adapted for observational studies. From eligible studies, two authors extracted author/year, study region, study design, sample size and reported effect of antenatal substance use on birth outcome on an excel spreadsheet. During critical appraisal and data extraction, disagreements between the two authors were resolved by the involvement of a third author. The extracted data were then exported to stata version 14. Effect sizes were pooled using the fixed-effects model due to homogenous primary studies (I² = 0.0%). Presence of publication bias was detected from asymmetry of funnel plot and statistically significant Egger's test (p = 0.000).

Results

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, a total of 5,343 mother-neonate pairs were included from 15 studies. Alcohol, khat, cigarette and narghile were used during pregnancy, and significant adverse birth outcomes attributable to these substances were reported. From the pooled effect of alcohol use, drinking mothers were twice (95%CI: AOR = 2.16; 1.16, 3.17) likely to have newborns with birth defect; 9 times (95% CI: AOR = 9.39; 2.84, 15.94) more prone to own low birth weight neonates; and 1.9 times more prone to deliver preterm neonates (95% CI: AOR = 1.93; 0.52, 3.33) than the nondrinkers. Khat users were 2.4 times (95%CI: AOR = 2.4; 1.11, 5.19) more likely to have congenitally defected neonates; and 3.1 times (95%CI: AOR = 3.19; 1.01, 5.37) more risked to possess low birth weight neonates. Furthermore, antenatal cigarette smokers (95% CI: AOR = 4.36 (1.75, 6.98)) and narghile users (95% CI: AOR = 20.1; 3.94, 103) were at 4 and 20 times more likelihood of having low birth weight neonates as compared to their counterparts.

Conclusion

Prematurity, low birth weight and congenital malformation were the investigated adverse effects of antenatal substance use in Ethiopia. Therefore, the existing public health efforts should be encouraged to help women stop using these substances completely before pregnancy. Moreover, increasing public awareness about the potential negative impacts of substance use during pregnancy on birth outcome would be of greatest importance for comprehensive prevention of the problem.