Clinical characteristics and some related factors among fetal malnutrition patients at Thanh Hoa Pediatrics Hospital in 2020

Abstract

A cross - sectional descriptive study was conducted on infants and their mothers at the Department of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Thanh Hoa Children’s Hospital from January to September 2020. This study aims to sescribe some clinical characteristics of malnourished mothers and children and study some factors related to fetal malnutrition of these newborn patients. The results showed that the rate of preterm infants with malnourishment accounted for 27.28%, the rate of full term infants accounted for 72.72%. The study did not find a statistically significant difference in terms of gender in malnourished children and non - malnourished children, thus gender is not considered a risk factor of malnourished chidren as our research’s result. Some risk factors leading to malnutrition were found to have relevant evidence in this study including: Place of residence, education level, maternal height, pre-pregnancy BMI, maternal weight gain during pregnancy, cardiovascular disease and maternal occupation of the mothers. Communication measures, such as antenatal and pre-marital classes, are needed to advise mothers and families about the risks of having an malnourished child as well as its consequences.