SynthesisBMC pregnancy and childbirth2025
The effect of maternal anemia during pregnancy on low birth weight in Ethiopia; a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Maternal Vulnerability Indicators Derived from Free-Text Clinical Documentation in Adolescent Pregnancy.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the fact that maternal anemia and low birth weight are significant public health issues that require investigation, developing countries like Ethiopia lack systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the subject. As a result, the objective of this review was to evaluate the total pooled effect of maternal anemia on low birth weight in Ethiopia.
methodsThe search was conducted across multiple electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, AJOL, and Google Scholar. Grey literature was also explored through Google, and unpublished studies were sought from official repositories of Ethiopian universities. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel and analyzed using STATA version 17 statistical software. Meta-analyses with random effects, subgroup analyses and meta-regressions were performed. Publication bias was measured using Egger regression and visual funnel plot inspection.
resultsThis meta-analysis analysed data from 28 studies involving a total of 28,122 participants. The overall pooled analysis demonstrated a significantly increased risk of low birth weight among pregnant women with anaemia (AOR = 3.33, 95% CI: 2.84-3.81). Subgroup analyses revealed significant heterogeneity in effect sizes across various geographical regions, study durations, and study designs. The highest risk of low birth weight was observed in the Amhara region (AOR=3.99, 95%CI:3.31-4.67), in studies conducted after January 2021 (AOR=3.41, 95% CI: 2.71-4.10), and among studies utilized a cohort design (AOR = 3.93, 95% CI: 2.34-5.52). CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The overall pooled estimate in this analysis reveals that women with anemia during pregnancy had a higher risk of low birth weight. These findings highlight the importance of prioritizing strategies that address maternal anemia as a means to reduce the burden of low birth weight. Strengthening antenatal care services to include routine anemia screening and management, alongside promoting nutritional interventions, could play a pivotal role in improving birth outcomes in this setting.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.