Assessing the impact of antenatal care utilization on low birthweight in India: Analysis of the 2015–2016 National Family Health Survey

Low birthweight (LBW) is a serious public health problem in lower-middle income countries. Despite several efforts have been made to improve the utilization of maternal health care, universalization of antenatal care (ANC) remains a major challenge in India. This paper aims to examine the association between the use of ANC services and LBW in India. A cross-sectional observational study was carried out using the data from the 2015 to 2016 National Family Health Survey (n = 147,762). We have carried out bivariate and multivariate analyses to fulfil the objective of this study. About 18% of the sample children were born with LBW. Only ¼th last birth women received full ANC services in 2015–2016. The results of binary logistic regression indicate that the likelihood of LBW was significantly lower among those children whose mother have adequate ANC services compared to those mother who did not receive those services even after accounting for important socioeconomic and demographic factors. The findings of this study suggest that providing affordable and quality ANC services could be an effective strategy to reduce the incidence of LBW. Furthermore, targeted invention is needed among socioeconomically vulnerable women to improve the utilization of ANC services, which could combat the incidence of LBW. •This study assesses the association between antenatal care (ANC) utilization and low birthweight (LBW) in India.•LBW is a serious public health problem in lower-middle income countries, associated with several adverse outcomes.•Adequate utilization of ANC services has significant negative association with LBW of children.•Providing affordable and quality ANC services could be an effective strategy to reduce the incidence of LBW.