The Impact Of Maternal Health And Prenatal Care On Pediatric Developmental And Health Outcomes

Abstract

Background: The determinants of pediatric developmental and health outcomes are maternal health, and prenatal care. Mother to child poor nutrition, bad prenatal care and untreated medical illnesses during pregnancy may have a negative effect on the growth of the fetus and early childhood development. Objective: The proposed study will estimate the role of maternal health condition and prenatal health care use on childhood development and early childhood health outcomes. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was done in 750 mother and child pairs in two groups such as adequate prenatal care and inadequate prenatal care. Mother and child health records and structured interviewing were used to gather data. Markes of maternal health, the antenatal care (ANC) visits, birth weight, meeting developmental milestones, and incidence of childhood illnesses were used as key indicators. Chi-square and logistic tests with a significance level of p < 0.05 were used as a method of statistical analysis. Findings: There was an increased normal weight of birth in children whose mothers received proper prenatal care (78% vs 55%) (p < 0.01). The rate of developmental delay (10 percent vs 25 percent), childhood illness occurrence (15 percent vs 30 percent) was less in the group of although there was adequate care. Conclusion: Health outcomes and maternal care during pregnancy have a great effect on pediatric development, so the importance of enhanced maternal care cannot be understated.