Multidimensional poverty and birth weight of full-term newborns

Abstract

Perinatal health is an issue of global concern, and certain birth events, such as low birth weight, continue to increase. Although their relationship with income poverty has been studied, the effect of poverty from a multidimensional approach remains to be investigated.

Objective: To determine the association between multidimensional poverty and birth weight in full-term newborns from 345 municipalities in Chile in 2015 and 2017.

Subjects and Method: Cross-sectional, analytical study with secondary data on full-term newborns registered in Chile (CASEN survey). The effect of multidimensional poverty at the level of municipality, region, and macrozone on birth weight and low birth weight was evaluated using linear and binomial regression models.

Results: 222,413 births were analyzed in 2015 and 198,035 in 2017. The mean percentage of multidimensional poverty decreased from 25.8% (SD ±9.2) to 20.8% (SD ±7.6). The southern macrozone had the highest levels of multidimensional poverty (25.7% in 2015 and 26.2% in 2017). Communal multidimensional poverty was associated with an increase in birth weight of < 1 gram (95% CI 0.67-1.11) in 2015 and 1.68 (95% CI 1.45-1.91) in 2017, adjusted for sociodemographic variables. There was no association between multidimensional poverty and low birth weight.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that multidimensional poverty could influence birth weight, although its effect depends on contextual factors such as gestational age. Further research into these dynamics is needed to guide effective perinatal health interventions.