BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (Mar 2021)

Birthweight: EN-BIRTH multi-country validation study

  • Stefanie Kong,
  • Louise T. Day,
  • Sojib Bin Zaman,
  • Kimberly Peven,
  • Nahya Salim,
  • Avinash K. Sunny,
  • Donat Shamba,
  • Qazi Sadeq-ur Rahman,
  • Ashish K.C.,
  • Harriet Ruysen,
  • Shams El Arifeen,
  • Paul Mee,
  • Miriam E. Gladstone,
  • Hannah Blencowe,
  • Joy E. Lawn,
  • EN-BIRTH Study Group

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-020-03355-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 21, no. S1
pp. 1 – 19

Abstract

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Abstract Background Accurate birthweight is critical to inform clinical care at the individual level and tracking progress towards national/global targets at the population level. Low birthweight (LBW) 98% for four hospitals) and legible > 99.9%. Weighing of stillbirths varied by hospital, ranging from 12.5–89.0%. Observed LBW rate was 15.6%; survey-reported rate 14.3% (8.9–20.9%), sensitivity 82.9% (75.1–89.4%), specificity 96.1% (93.5–98.5%); register-recorded rate 14.9%, sensitivity 90.8% (85.9–94.8%), specificity 98.5% (98–99.0%). In surveys, “don’t know” responses for birthweight measured were 4.7%, and 2.9% for knowing the actual weight. 95.9% of observed babies were weighed within 1 h of birth, only 14.7% with a digital scale. Weight heaping indices were around two-fold lower using digital scales compared to analogue. Observed heaping was almost 5% higher for births during the night than day. Survey-report further increased observed birthweight heaping, especially for LBW babies. Enablers to register birthweight measurement in qualitative interviews included digital scale availability and adequate staffing. Conclusions Hospital registers captured birthweight and LBW prevalence more accurately than women’s survey report. Even in large hospitals, digital scales were not always available and stillborn babies not always weighed. Birthweight data are being captured in hospitals and investment is required to further improve data quality, researching of data flow in routine systems and use of data at every level.

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