[Low birth weight: rate and risk factors in the Guédianwaye district (suburb of Dakar, Senegal)].

Low birth weight (LBW) or all births under the weight of 2500 g is a major causative factor behind neonatal morbidity and mortality and also a public health indicator. The birth of a low birth weight infant reflects both the mother s health status and the quality of health care she received. Results are presented from a prospective study conducted between December 1992 and May 1993 in Guediawaye district in the suburbs of Dakar. This district together with that of Pikine covers Senegal s most densely populated territory with an average density of 3600 people per sq. km. 70000 of the district s 400000 inhabitants are reproductive-aged women. During the study period 272 LBW births were recorded among the 2522 total births an incidence of 10.7%. This incidence for 6 months is comparable to that measured in a retrospective study of births in maternity wards during 1992 (10.03%). Single status primiparity a pathology associated with pregnancy and the physical strain of mothers linked to their income and previous LBW infant were the main risk factors for LBW. The main risk factors are primarily socioeconomic.