Explain the effect of Non Nutritional Factors pregnancy?
The incidence of LBW is lowest and mean birth weight is highest in the state of Kerala, which is attributed to better quality of health care and higher female literacy rate in Kerala. An ICMR study in six states of India has shown that average age of marriage in girls was 13.8 years and the age at consummation of marriage was 15.3 years. 1 should be noted that the age of 14-18 is a period of active growth, the period of adolescence. From the average weights and heights of Indian ma1 girls, it is seen that 68% of the girls will be at high risk of poor pregnancy outcome at the age of 14 y and the risk reduces to 24% at the age of 18 years. Thus, early age at marriage is another high risk factor for poor foetal outcome.
Heavy physical labour even in advanced stages of pregnancy is another factor to contend with in the settings of developing countries like India. It is suggested that under warm environmental temperatures and in an upright posture, increased sympathetic activity could result in poor utero placental blood flow affecting the foetus adversely. The average gestational duration of full term deliveries in poor communities in India is about a week shorter than in the well off sections. This is attributed to the increased sympathetic via the heavy physical labour. Pre natal intra uterine infections could be another factor contributing to LBW. It has been reported that infants born in poor environmental backgrounds have increased IgM (immunoglobulin M, an antibody), which is a reflection of the high exposure to intra uterine infections.