Maternal and neonatal determinants for newborn nutritional assessment in Sargodha City: A case study

Objective: To assess the nutritional status of the newborn and explore the association between maternal and neonatal factors and the nutritional status of newborn. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Government Mola Buksh Hospital, Sargodha, and involved 178 live-born infants (gestational age 37-41 weeks) and maternal age between 15-45 years. The exclusion criteria include polyhydramnios, multiple gestation, and grand multiparty. Data on maternal and neonatal characteristics are collected via a questionnaire. Chisquare tests are used to examine the association between the Clinical Assessment of Nutrition (CAN) score and variables. Results: Most participants were young (44.4% below 20 years), rural residents (68.0%), educated (80.9%), with low employment (21.9%), and from joint families (75.8). Anemia was prevalent (69.1% with hemoglobin <10mg/dl), a low incidence of preeclampsia (7.9%), and 56.2% of babies were female. Out of the 178 newborns, 19.7% had a CAN score below 25, which indicates poor nutritional status. Chi-square tests revealed significant associations between maternal age (p=0.027) and weight gain (p=0.019) with newborn nutrition. Pre-eclampsia (p<0.001) and urinary tract infections (p=0.002) were significantly linked to poor nutritional status. Conclusion: Maternal age, weight gain, living with a husband, pre-eclampsia, and infection were significant predictors of newborn nutritional status. We did not find significant associations for residence, education, employment, parity, hemoglobin levels, history of injectable iron, mode of delivery, or sex of the baby. These findings underscore the importance of targeted healthcare interventions to improve maternal health and newborn nutrition.