The Correlation Between Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infections in Pregnancy and Low Birth Weight Infants

Abstract

The prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection in pregnancy increases in developing countries. The disease interferes with nutrient absorption due to the accumulation of inflammatory cells in the placenta, causing infants with low birth weight. This study investigates the correlation between HIV infections in pregnancy and low birth weight infants. This paper was an analytic observational study with a retrospective approach. The population were positive and negative HIV pregnant mothers in the Obstetrics and Gynecology ward and their infants in the Neonatology ward at dr. Soebandi Hospital from August 2014 to July 2017. There were 52 samples of HIV-positive pregnant mothers by total sampling, while 52 samples of HIV-negative pregnant mothers by purposive sampling. The independent variable was the pregnant mother's HIV Status, while the dependent variable was infant birth weight. The data analysis used the Fisher's Exact with a 95% confidence interval and a significance of p<0.05. In the HIV-positive pregnant mothers, nine of 52 respondents (17.3%) were LBW infants. Meanwhile, in the HIV-negative pregnant mother group, three of 52 respondents (5.8%) were LBW infants. The data analysis by Fisher's Exact obtained p=0.06 (p>0.05). This study concludes that there is no significant correlation between HIV infections in pregnancy and low birth weight infants. Although, the incidence of LBW in HIV-positive pregnant mothers is three times more than in HIV-negative pregnant mothers