The Open Women's Health Journal

2010, 4 : 1-4
Published online 2010 February 12. DOI: 10.2174/1874291201004010001
Publisher ID: TOWHJ-4-1

Parity and Birth Weight in the Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam

Arild Vaktskjold , Doàn Vn Trí , Jon Ø. Odland and Torkjel Sandanger
Nordiske Høyskolen for Folkehelsevitenskap, Postboks 12133, S-40242 Göteborg, Sweden

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to assess maternal parity and its association with the birth weight of newborns in the Khanh Hoa province in the south-central part of Vietnam. In 2005, 240 consecutively admitted pregnant women in three main delivery clinics, both rural and urban, were enrolled. The women delivered 238 singleton newborns with a mean birth weight of 3201 grams (95% confidence limits: 3155, 3247). Vietnam has a strict two-child policy, but 10 percent were borne by women who had at least two previous deliveries. Thus, also women who give birth more than twice appeared to deliver in the public birth clinics. The adjusted birth weight was strongly associated with the parity, which means that population adherence to policies limiting the number of children to one or two influences the overall population mean and distribution of birth weight.

Keywords:

Birth weight, Child policy, Parity, Vietnam.