Low-birthweight infants born to short-stature mothers are at additional risk of stunting and poor growth velocity: Evidence from secondary data analyses

Low-birthweight (LBW) infants are at an increased risk of stunting and poor linear growth. The risk might be additionally higher in these infants when born to short mothers. However, this hypothesis has been less explored. The objective of this secondary data analysis was to determine the risk of linear growth faltering and difference in linear growth velocity in LBW infants born to short mothers (<150cm) compared to those born to mothers with height 150cm during the first year of life. This analysis uses data from a community-based randomized controlled trial of 2,052 hospital-born term infants with birthweight 2,500g from urban low-middle socioeconomic neighbourhoods in Delhi, India. Data on maternal height and infant birth length were available from 1,858 (90.5%) of the infants. Infant anthropometry outcomes were measured at birth, 3, 6, 9, and 12months of age. We found that infants born to short mothers had around twofold higher odds of stunting and lower attained length-for-age Z scores compared to infants of mothers with height 150cm, at all ages of assessment. Linear growth velocity was significantly lower in infants of short mothers particularly in the first 6months of life. We conclude that LBW infants born to short mothers are at a higher risk of stunting and have slower postnatal growth velocity resulting in lower attained length-for-age Z scores in infancy. Evidence-based strategies need to be tested to optimize growth velocity in LBW infants especially those born to short mothers.