Objectives:
to evaluate the association between characteristics relating to socio-demographic factors and the prenatal and delivery period of adolescent and young adult mothers whose newborns present with low weight at birth in State capitals and other municipalities in the Northeast region of Brazil, between 2011 and 2012.
Methods:
a hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out at regional level in 2011 and 2012. Information was obtained by way of an interview with the mother immediately post-partum and from data contained in the medical records of mothers and newborns. A conceptual theoretical model was established with three hierarchical levels and the dependent variable was low weight at birth (LWB).
Results:
of the 3009 mothers interviewed, 9.7% had had newborns of low birth weight. The mothers who had received less than six prenatal consultations had a 1.7 times greater chance of giving birth to a child of low weight; a first pregnancy increased the risk of occurrence of LWB by an order of 1.5; while prematurity was the principal exposure factor, with 21 greater likelihood of this outcome.
Conclusions:
the study showed a high frequency of low birth weight among adolescent and young adult mothers, the main associated factors being an insufficient number of prenatal consultations, a first pregnancy and prematurity.
Teenage pregnancy; newborns low weight; Adolescent; Young adult