Iron with folic acid supplemenation and birth weight in Ethiopia: Systemic review and meta-analysis

Objective: The aim of this systemic review and meta-analysis was to examine the relationship between iron with folic acid supplementation and low birth weight in Ethiopia Previous studies on iron with folic acid supplementation and low birth weight indicated different findings. We include 24 studies in different regions of Ethiopia. We have done this study focusing on iron with folic acid supplementation. Materials and Methods The databases searched were PUBMED and Advanced Google Scholar. on reference manager software reporting iron with folic acid supplementation and low birth weight. Three researchers have carried out the data extraction and assessed independently the articles for inclusion in the review using the risk-of-bias tool guided by the PRISMA checklist. Results: Twenty-four observational studies involving 10989 participants, 2348 newborns have low birth weight were included. The combined effect size (OR) for low birth weight r comparing women who have an iron with folic acid supplementation versus women who did not have an iron with folic acid supplementation was 0.37 (95%CI 0.25 to 0.55), p<0.00001, I2 = 91 %). There was significant heterogeneity. No publication bias was observed, women reported iron with folic acid supplementation during current pregnancy in all studies, the proportion of low birth weight among women who reported iron with folic acid supplementation during the current pregnancy was 1392 (17.85%). Conclusions: Women who take iron with folic acid supplementation during pregnancy have a 67% decreased in delivering low birth weight newborns in Ethiopia.