Risk factors for small-for-gestational age births among infants in Brazil

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk factors for small-for-gestational-age (SGA) births. METHODS: All live births occurring in the city of Pelotas, Brazil, between October and December 1993 were identified and mothers interviewed soon after delivery. Birthweight was recorded by the maternity staff. Gestational age was obtained from the mothers' ´recall of their date of last menstrual period. SGA was defined as a birthweight below the 10th percentile for gestational age and sex, according to the reference developed by Williams. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used in the crude and multivariate analysis, respectively. RESULTS: In all, 1082 births were identified. The prevalence of SGA was 13.1%. Even after adjusting for possible confounding variables, the odds ratio for SGA among those infants whose family income was <1 minimum wage was 8.81 (95% CI, 1.12-69.46) times higher than among those for infants with a family income ;³;10 minimum wage. An antenatal care of low quality was associated with an odds ratio of 3.28 (95% CI, 1.09-9.91) for SGA. Short maternal stature and maternal smoking during pregnancy were also associated with SGA births. CONCLUSIONS: Low socioeconomic status, maternal smoking during pregnancy, maternal height and an antenatal care of low quality are the main risk factors for SGA births.