ArticlePLOS global public health2025
Prevalence of low birth weight and associated factors in Ethiopia: An umbrella review of systematic review and meta-analyses.
Article in PLOS global public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Health system readiness for immediate Kangaroo Mother Care (iKMC) among network of care facilities in the Sidama region, Ethiopia: a mixed-method study.Gates open research · 2026Article
- Infectious Diseases in Children: Diagnosing the Impact of Climate Change-Related Disasters Using Integer-Valued Autoregressive Models with Overdispersion.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Risk factors and co-occurring patterns of low birth weight in Bangladesh: Insights from logistic regression and association rule mining.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Folic acid utilization and associated factors among pregnant women who attended public health facilities of illuababor zone, Southwest Ethiopia.Women's health (London, England)Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Low birth weight (LBW) is one of the major causes of neonatal mortality and morbidity in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite the goal of reducing newborn morbidity and mortality by 2030, low-income countries, including Ethiopia, still confront major challenges. Although various systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMA) have been conducted on LBW in Ethiopia, there is notable variation among their findings. This umbrella review aimed to consolidate inconsistent findings into a single summary estimate, providing a robust synthesis of evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses to bolster health policy development and planning in Ethiopia.Articles were retrieved on PubMed/Medline, Science Direct, Web of Science, HINARI, and Google Scholar. Assessments of Multiple Systematic Reviews checklist scores were used to assess the quality of the included SRMA studies. A random-effects model was used to estimate the overall effect size.A total of eleven SRMA studies (5 prevalence and 6 predictors) involving 190,492 neonates with an outcome of interest were included in the analysis. The summary estimate for the prevalence of LBW was 16% (95% CI: 13, 18%). Being prematurity [POR: 7.86; 95% CI: 5.79, 10.67], not attending antenatal care (ANC) [POR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.49, 3.88], having pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) [POR: 4.2; 95% CI: 2.78, 6.36], being a rural resident [POR: 2.14, 95% CI: 1.56, 2.94], having a pregnancy interval < 24 months [POR: 2.96; 95% CI: 1.79, 4.9], not having iron-folic acid supplementation (IFAS) [POR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.29, 0.5], and being a maternal age < 20 [POR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.41, 2.9] were significantly associated with LBW. This umbrella review revealed more than three out of twenty neonates experienced LBW in Ethiopia. Being premature, not attending antenatal care, having pregnancy-induced hypertension, being a rural resident, having a pregnancy interval < 24 months, not having iron-folic acid supplementation and being a maternal age < 20 were significant predictors of LBW. Therefore, timely diagnosis, proper treatment, and follow-up of women at risk might combat the incidence of LBW in Ethiopia.
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