Quality of Antenatal Care as a Means of Safeguard for Low Birth Weight: A Longitudinal Study in Hadiya Zone Centeral Ethiopia regional state Ethiopia.

Background: A child's birth weight is an important indicator of a child's vulnerability to the risk of childhood illness and the chances of survival. Quality antenatal care is expected to improve the birth weight. The main aim of this study was to determine the effect of quality antenatal care on birth weight. Method : A facility-based prospective follow-up study design was conducted among 859 mothers with gestational age <= 16 weeks. The pregnant mothers who came for their first antenatal visit were recruited and followed until the delivery time. A standardized observational checklist was adopted and adapted to collect the longitudinal data. During the first visit, data on socio-demographic, obstetric, and medical history was collected using an interviewadministered questionnaire, and during delivery weight of the baby was taken. Quality antenatal care service was considered to be good, provided that mothers received 75% of the essential component of the ANC services. General estimating equation logistic regression analysis was done to determine the effect of quality antenatal care on low birth weight. Result: A total of 859 babies were included in this analysis, resulting in a response rate of 100%. The incidence of low birth weight was 17.9% (95% CI: 15.5% -20.6%). Good quality of ANC services was strongly associated with reduced risk of having LBW by 98% (AOR=0.020 (95%CI =0.005, 0.054). In addition, the risk of having low birth weight baby was higher among mothers who had a history of abortion, premature delivery, and monthly income. Conclusion : The study highlights a high incidence of low birth weight in the study area, emphasizing the urgency for stakeholders to take decisive action to address this problem. Increasing the quality of Antenatal Care (ANC) services emerges as a pivotal strategy in mitigating the risk of low birth weight. Federal Ministry of Health and other partners working in the area should promptly design and implement effective strategies to enhance the standards of ANC services, aiming for a significant reduction in the incidence of low birth weight within the community. [ Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2024; 38(1): 00-00]