SynthesisMaternal and child health journal2021
Maternal Education and Low Birth Weight in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Maternal and child health journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Current trends in household food insecurity, dietary diversity, and stunting among children under five in Asia: a systematic review.Journal of global health · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with undernutrition among HIV-positive women of reproductive age in Mahama refugee camp, Rwanda.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a predictive model for acute respiratory distress syndrome in moderate-to-late preterm infants: a multicenter retrospective study.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Disparities in Low-Birth-Weight Prevalence Across Kenya: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Maternal, Demographic, and Socioeconomic Risk Factors.Health science reports · 2026Review
- A retrospective analysis of maternal factors, access of prevention of vertical transmission resources, and infant preterm delivery and mortality.AIDS (London, England) · 2026Article
- Antenatal care utilization and low birth weight in Zambia: Evidence from the Zambia Demographic and Health Survey.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Childhood vaccination coverage and socioeconomic inequalities in the Northern region of Brazil.Revista brasileira de epidemiologia = Brazilian journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Factors Associated With Low Birth Weight Among Under-Five Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence From Demographic and Health Surveys of 58,857 Children.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Association of Paternal BMI and Diet During Pregnancy with Offspring Birth Measures: The STEPS Study.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Evaluating causal influence of maternal educational attainment on offspring birthweight via observational study and Mendelian randomization analyses.SSM - population health · 2024Article
- Vulnerabilities and reparative strategies during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period: moving from rhetoric to action.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Review
- Factors associated with low birth weight in low-income populations in the Western Balkans: insights from the multiple indicator cluster survey.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Regional with urban-rural variation in low birth weight and its determinants of Indian children: findings from National Family Health Survey 5 data.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Article
- Secular trends in low birth weight and child undernutrition in West Africa: evidence from complex nationwide surveys, 1985-2019.Public health nutrition · 2022Article
- Family Income and Low Birth Weight in Term Infants: a Nationwide Study in Israel.Maternal and child health journal · 2022Article
- Article
- Educational attainment and offspring birth weight: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.Frontiers in genetics · 2022Article
- Antenatal care attendance and risk of low birthweight in Burkina Faso: a cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAdverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight (LBW), remain the leading causes of child morbidity and mortality in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the strength and consistency of the association between maternal education and LBW in LMICs.
methodsWe conducted an electronic search of studies published between 2000 and 2014 in four databases using three MeSH keywords - birth outcomes including LBW; individual-level socioeconomic measures including maternal education; and a list of LMICs. The methodological quality of each eligible study was evaluated following the GRADE approach. A total of 26 studies were entered into meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses were performed to account for heterogeneity in the measurement of exposure and country development level.
findingsThe meta-analysis revealed a statistically significant pooled estimate (OR = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.61-0.74) indicating that maternal education is protective against LBW in LMICs. Heterogeneity was found high in subgroup analyses in studies from lower-middle income countries and in those measuring maternal education in academic classes, but drops considerably in studies from low-income countries and those measuring it in number of years of schooling. The quality of the overall body of evidence is moderate due to high observed heterogeneity in some subgroup analyses and the presence of studies with high risk of bias.
interpretationHigher maternal education associates with a moderate but statistically significant decrease in the risk of delivering a LBW infant in LMICs. Enhancing girls' and women's access to education operates through a number of pathways to improve birth outcomes and reduce LBW in LMICs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
33945084What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.