Tesfa Desalegn, Teshome Fentaw, Ambaw Birhanie
Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia.
Int J Pediatr. 2021 Nov 28;2021:5005365. doi: 10.1155/2021/5005365. eCollection 2021.
Undernutrition contributes to almost half of all under-five deaths. Fetal malnutrition (FM) has been implicated in both short- and long-term consequences among fetal, neonatal, and adult life. Currently, Ethiopia lacks information on the prevalence of fetal malnutrition and its associated factors. This study, therefore, is aimed at assessing the prevalence of FM at birth and its associated factors in South Gondar zone hospitals, northwest Ethiopia.
A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 1, 2019, to April 30, 2020, among four hospitals of South Gondar zone. All women with their live newborns who met the eligibility criteria were included. Clinical assessment of nutritional status including other anthropometric measurements was done immediately after delivery. The newborn was declared as fetal malnourished if the clinical assessment of nutritional status cut-off point is less than 25. Data were collected by trained clinical midwives. Besides bivariate regression analysis, a multivariable logistic regression analysis was done to identify associations.
A total of 1592 mothers with their live newborns participated in this study. The prevalence of fetal malnutrition was 21.7% (95% CI: 19.7-23.9). Intimate partner violence (AOR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.52-2.56), placental weight less than 512 grams (AOR: 2.76, 95% CI: 2.13-3.57), and small for gestational age (AOR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.46-2.62) were significantly associated with fetal malnutrition.
The prevalence of fetal malnutrition was a public health problem in this study. Intimate partner violence, placental weight, and small for gestational age were found the most significant variables. To avert fetal malnutrition, positive family relation and additional or balanced nutritional supplementation during pregnancy are critical. We recommend researchers do clinical follow-up research which comprises a detailed investigation of placental, maternal, and fetal factors including genes.
营养不良导致了近一半的五岁以下儿童死亡。胎儿营养不良（FM）与胎儿、新生儿及成年期的短期和长期后果均有关联。目前，埃塞俄比亚缺乏关于胎儿营养不良患病率及其相关因素的信息。因此，本研究旨在评估埃塞俄比亚西北部南贡德尔地区医院出生时胎儿营养不良的患病率及其相关因素。
于2019年11月1日至2020年4月30日在南贡德尔地区的四家医院开展了一项横断面研究。纳入了所有符合纳入标准的有活产新生儿的妇女。分娩后立即对营养状况进行临床评估，包括其他人体测量指标。如果营养状况临床评估的截断点小于25，则新生儿被判定为胎儿营养不良。数据由经过培训的临床助产士收集。除了进行双变量回归分析外，还进行了多变量逻辑回归分析以确定关联。
共有1592名有活产新生儿的母亲参与了本研究。胎儿营养不良的患病率为21.7%（95%置信区间：19.7 - 23.9）。亲密伴侣暴力（调整后比值比：1.97，95%置信区间：1.52 - 2.56）、胎盘重量小于512克（调整后比值比：2.76，95%置信区间：2.13 - 3.57）以及小于胎龄儿（调整后比值比：1.96，95%置信区间：1.46 - 2.62）与胎儿营养不良显著相关。
在本研究中，胎儿营养不良的患病率是一个公共卫生问题。亲密伴侣暴力、胎盘重量和小于胎龄儿是最显著的变量。为避免胎儿营养不良，积极的家庭关系以及孕期额外或均衡的营养补充至关重要。我们建议研究人员开展临床随访研究，其中包括对胎盘、母亲和胎儿因素（包括基因）进行详细调查。
