ISSN 2326-7291
International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology Vol. 1 (1), pp. 010-013, October, 2012. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Correlation of maternal albumin and birth weight of babies in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital
Baba Usman Ahmadu*, Adebayo Ayub-Eniola Ayodele, Haruna Ngadda, Usman Jungudu and Kyari Sandabe Mustapha
Department of Paediatrics, Federal Medical Centre Yola, P. M. B. 2017, Yola bye-pass Adamawa state, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Received 5 October 2012; Accepted 29 October, 2012.
Abstract
Poor nutrition is high in population residing mostly in developing countries. Maternal albumin deficiency could have influence on birth weight of babies. This study looked at the correlation of maternal albumin and birth weight of babies at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. Ninety eight mother-baby pairs were selected using systematic random sampling method. Maternal albumin was determined using the Bromocresol Green method and birth weight of baby’s was assessed using the bassinet weighing scale. The relationship between maternal albumin and birth weight was investigated by correlation analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test for significance of data. There were 52 (53.1 %) male and 46 (46.9 %) female babies. Most mothers 86 (87.8%) had acceptable albumin levels. Mean (SD) of birth weight of babies and maternal albumin were 3.01(0.60) and 38.92 (6.07) respectively. A positive correlation coefficient was found between maternal albumin and mean birth weight of babies, however, this was not significant (r = 0.483, p = 0.227). Maternal albumin varies directly with mean birth weight of babies; however, this relationship was not significant in this study. Further work in this regard is hereby recommended.
Key words: Maternal albumin, babies weights, mother-baby pairs, teaching hospital, Nigeria.