The relationship between pregnant mothers' mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) and estimated fetal weight

Abstract

The nutritional status of pregnant women can be determined by measuring the mother's mid upper arm circumference (MUAC). If the mother's MUAC is less than 23.5 cm, it indicates the presence of Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED), which puts the baby at risk of  low birth weight (LBW). Estimated fetal weight is one method of determining the fetus's growth in the womb. The purpose of this study was to see if there was a link between pregnant women's MUAC and the fetus' estimated weight at the Watampone Community Health Center, Bone Regency, and PMB Jumiani, S.ST. The research design used was analytic observational with a cross sectional study design. The sample in this study was 100 people selected using accidental sampling technique in accordance with the inclusion criteria. The results showed that 79.2 percent of normal pregnant women MUAC (not CED) were in accordance with the estimated fetal weight (EFW) and 20.8 percent were not according to EFW. There were 27.9 percent MUAC of abnormal pregnant women (CED) which was in accordance with EFW and 82.1 percent which did not conform to EFW. Thus, there is a relationship between the upper arm circumference (MUAC) of pregnant women and the estimated weight of the fetus with a p value = 0.000. This indicates that a pregnant woman's upper arm circumference has a significant impact on the fetus's development in the womb.