Introduction:

low birth weight is the most important index to determine the survival possibilities of newborn having a normal growth and development; it currently constitutes one of the main obstetric problems, associated with more than 75 % of perinatal morbidity and mortality rate.

Objective:

to identify the main risk factors associated with low birth weight in Pinar del Rio municipality during 2018.

Methods:

a descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out. The target group comprised 95 low birth weight newborn babies in the period studied and the sample included 75 meeting the inclusion criteria established in the research. The variables applied were: maternal age, gestational age at birth, risk factors (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, bronchial asthma, anemia, vaginal sepsis, urinary sepsis and smoking habit), and weight gain during pregnancy. The sources used were clinical histories of the mothers and newborn babies. Data were summarized in absolute and relative frequencies.

Results:

the incidence of low birth weight was 4,4 %, the most represented maternal age from 27 to 34 years old (48 %), 52 % of babies were born at 37 weeks of gestation. Vaginal sepsis was present in 42,6 %, weight gain during gestation behaved greater than 8 kilograms in the 54,7 %.

Conclusions:

both the modification of knowledge and the risk factors associated with low birth weight will be of favorable impact for its decrease.

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