Psychosocial Factors Associated with Growth of Infants under 6 Months Who Referred to Health Centers in Ahwaz West

Properphysical development is one of the reliable criteria for evaluation of children’s health status, especially in the first two years of life. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between mother’s general health and growth of below-6-month-old infants referred to health centers of west of Ahvaz. This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was performed on mothers of 200infantsunder 6months old who had referred to health centers in west of Ahvaz. The study data were collected using the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software, version 15. The results indicated that the mean score of the mothers’ general health was 13.52. Besides, 54% of the mothers (N=107) were mentally healthy, while 46% (N=93) had mental disorders. Moreover, mean scores of anxiety and insomnia (4.2) and social function (3.54) were higher compared to other indicators of general health. The results showed a significant relationship between mothers’ mental health status and infants’ weight and head circumference at birth and two months of age. Besides, a significant correlation was found between mothers’ education level and head circumference growth trend. Also, mothers’ age and economic status were significantly associated with infants’ weight gain and head circumference growth trends. The study results indicated that maternal risk factors, such as age, mental status, and education level could play an important role in infants’ growth. Therefore, identifying other risk factors and focusing on their reduction in health programs are necessary to guarantee community’s health.