Relationship between maternal rest during pregnancy and birth weight
Sachar, R.K.; Verma, J.; Singh, A.; Singh, W.P.; Soni, R.K.; Sehgal, R.
Indian Journal of Maternal and Child Health Official Publication of Indian Maternal and Child Health Association 2(2): 43-45
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0970-8928 PMID: 12320287 Document Number: 338369
The objective was to develop an arbitrary scoring system to quantify maternal rest and to study the relationship between maternal rest and birth weight. 474 women delivering at term in various hospitals and nursing homes in Ludhiana, India, were studied. An hour-to-hour inventory of their activity and rest was made for the whole 24 hours. The hours were logged for heavy, moderate, and light work. Similarly, hours of rest were logged for various grades of rest. The various hours of rest and activity were converted into scores by using an arbitrary scoring system and then totaled to give rest and activity scores. The Rest minus Activity Score (R-A score) gives a measure of absolute rest taken by the women. Theoretically the range of R-A score could be from +120 (a woman sleeping for 24 hours) to -120 (a woman performing heavy work for 24 hours). However, the majority of actual R-A scores ranged from 0 to 90. On this basis the women were arbitrarily divided into groups: R-A score of 30 or less, 31 to 60, and above 60. Women were also stratified according to their socioeconomic status into four groups, the criteria being total family income. For finding the relationship between rest and birth weight, the coefficient of correlation (r) was calculated between R-A score and birth weight. Although overall a low degree of correlation was observed between maternal rest and birth weight, in the lower socioeconomic groups the correlation was stronger. In all socioeconomic groups birth weights increased with increasing maternal rest. Maternal rest is an important determinant of birth weight particularly in women of lower socioeconomic level. Any program for prevention of low birth weight must emphasize adequate maternal rest throughout pregnancy to restrict energy expenditure, particularly for women of lower socioeconomic status.