Association Between Smoking During Pregnancy and Child's Birth Weight
I'll send all documents you need after. the maximum word count is 1500, and no less than 1350 which is 10% of 1500.
You should use R studio to complete this scientific report, and there is a ppt that contains the link of R studio if you do not have it.
Also, the note ppt and there are 3 essential readings really really recommended.
Please take time to do it, it is necessary!
Week 1 lecture:
This week, we will learn about scientific methods and hypothesis testing. especially in biological anthropology. You will read articles analysing quantitative data and resting predictions. The aim of this session is for you to understand the basics of scientific testing. At the end of this half term, you will apply the knowledge you gain in the next few weeks and conduct your own scientific project
Specifically this week we will:
· Set out the course structure
· Introduce what is meant by scientific method
· Develop knowledge around hypothesis testing
· Apply these concepts by reading a scientific paper
Week 2:
Introduction to Quantitative Data and Statistics
Building on last week’s topics, we will dig deeper into:
· What is quantitative data
· How can we use basic statistics to answer questions from the data?
· Discuss the potential impacts of how data is collected
Week 3:
Developing the ideas around statistics we covered last week, this week we will:
· Use an analytical programme to run a series of statistical tests on real data
· Identify how these tests could be used in writing up your scientific report
Week 4:!!!! Important
Your Scientific Report analysis
Having learnt all the above, this week you will
· Run your analyses in the lab setting
· The tutors will be around to give you a hand if you need it!
· Start structuring your scientific report in line with the briefing guide you have been given
R analysis for your scientific report
You will start on your scientific report today, specifically focusing on your analysis. The question for your scientific report is, “What is the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and children’s birth weight?” Data for your analysis is available under “Birth weight data for your scientific report project.”
The data description (including how it was collected) is available under “Dataset Description: Birth Weight Data.” This is an individually led session.
Your aims for today are the following. (Do not worry if you don’t finish everything today - you have until the 21st of February (13:00) to complete your scientific report):
OBSERVATIONS: Read through some background literature to understand the question. Some papers have been provided for you under “Background Reading.” However, you are free to search for your own articles. You may want to make notes onto your scientific report Word document, though this is up to you.
HYPOTHESES: Create your hypotheses. Save this onto your scientific report Word document.
ANALYSIS: Use R to create descriptive statistics. Refer to the WEEK 3 work book if you can’t remember how to do this/how to report this. Save your results onto your scientific report Word document.
ANALYSIS: Use R to conduct a t-test which tests your hypothesis. Refer to the WEEK 3 work book if you can’t remember how to do this/how to report this. Save your results onto your scientific report Word document. More information on T-Tests in R can be found under “How To: Independent Samples T-Test in R.” Remember, instructions on how to write your scientific report are outlined in the Scientific Methods Course Information Sheet (Term 2 Lab 1).
How to independent samples in T test:
http://www(dot)sthda(dot)com/english/wiki/unpaired-two-samples-t-test-in-r
Hypothesis testing and P-Values:
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=-FtlH4svqx4&t=24s
Week 5: Important!!!
Developing your scientific writing skills
With your statistical analyses from last week, and your report well underway, this week will help you continue the assignment by
· Identifying common mistakes and pitfalls in statistical analyses
· Signposting where to go next to develop your skills in future
· Outlining recent changes in data and analyses that will continue to shape the world of the 21st century
There are very specific guidelines for writing the Scientific Report, which heavily influence the mark you will receive for the section. Follow the course information sheet exactly to ensure you do as well as you possibly can. If you get stuck or confused, email your course instructor.
The association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and children's birth weight
2 Abstract
Low birth weight in infants is a global public health concern. Smoking is one of the maternal behaviors leading to low birth weight. This study aims at assessing whether maternal smoking during pregnancy and the baby's weight at birth are related. A sample size of 189 of data gathered at Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1986 was used. This research found that the average birth weight of infants of women who smoked was considerably lower than that of infants of women who did not smoke during pregnancy. The study concludes that maternal smoking during pregnancy lowers the weight of infants at birth.
3 Introduction
Birth weight is strongly linked to increased mortality risks and developmental problems in children. According to UNICEF (2019) data, normal baby weight is at least 2500 grams at birth. UNICEF birth statistics point to cases of low birth weight being on the rise in contemporary society, with 14.6 % of babies born in 2015 suffering from low weight. In the U.S. 2020, Center for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicates that 8.24% of children are born low weight. The data also indicates that one in every five babies born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy and those exposed to secondary smoking have low weight babies at birth (FastStats – birthweight, 2022; Smoking during pregnancy, 2020). This elicits concerns because low weight is the primary cause of increased mortality and congenital disability rates. Birth weight is a significant indicator of other health conditions in a child's life besides mortality rate (Pereira et al., 2017). Mathewson et al. (2017) assert that extremely low weight babies are at a higher risk of certain mental health conditions that begin at childhood and extend to their 30s.
Smoking is one of the maternal behaviors leading to low birth weight. Chattrapiban et al. (2020) and Rumrich et al. (2020) assert that baby's weight for mothers who continued smoking after their first trimester was considerably low compared to those who did not smoke. Balte et al. (2016), Brand et al. (2020), and Suzuki et al. (2016) argue that a child whose mother smoked during pregnancy is born weighing low and likely to experience a higher bone fracture rate in their first year.
Knopik et al. (2016) and Zheng et al. (2016) note that smoking contributes to low birth weight even in situations where genetic compositions play a role. Mothers who smoke more cigarettes are likely to have lighter children than those who regulate their smoking to an average of six cigarettes per day (Kataoka et al., 2018; Parker et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2020). However, Kataoka et al. (2018) did not find a significant association between smoking during pregnancy and low birth weight for women who smoked less than five cigarettes per day.
More research is required to establish factors related to low infant weight at birth. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and children's birth weight. Based on previous literature, the hypothesis formulated for this study was that maternal smoking during pregnancy results in lower children's birth weight.
4 Materials and Methods
4.1 Sample
The sample size for this study was 189. The sample consists of data collected from 189 women aged between 14 and 45 years after birth. Out of the 189 women, 130 had babies with normal birth weight, while 59 had low birth weight.
4.2 Procedure
This research used secondary data gathered at Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1986; the university researchers collected the data from 189 women after birth using questionnaires. The data was derived from "Applied Logistic Regression: Third Edition" by Hosmer & Lemeshow. One of the benefits of using secondary data is that it helps in eliminating logistical and financial obstacles associated with primary data collection (Trinh, 2018).
4.3 Statistical Analysis
Descriptive statistics were created using R software to outline the basic characteristics of the quantitative data. Creating descriptive statistics is an important step when carrying out research and always occurs before making any inferential statistical comparisons (Kaur et al., 2018). They allow a researcher to summarize raw data from a population or a sample using percentages, means, or visual summaries like histograms and box plots (Kaliyadan & Kulkarni, 2019). Percentages and frequencies were used in this study to describe the categorical variables (low, race, and smoke). Measures of dispersion and central tendency were used to describe the continuous variables (age and birth weight).
Additionally, R software was used to conduct an independent t-test to test the study's main hypothesis. This is a parametric test used to compare the means of two unrelated samples. It assumes that the sample observations are independent and the population from which the sample was picked is normal (Gerald, 2018). For valid inferences to be made from this test, the two groups being compared should be approximately normally distributed, and the variances equal (Schober & Vetter, 2019). Two preliminary tests were carried out to check for the normality and homogeneity of variance. First, a Shapiro-Wilk test was carried out to test for normality. Second, Levene's test was used to check for homogeneity of variance. The dependent variable was birth weight, measured on a continuous scale. The independent variable was smoke and was used to classify the women into smokers and non-smokers.
5 Results
5.1 Descriptive statistics
This research analyzed data collected from 189 women after birth. Their ages were between 14 and 45 years, with an average of 23.24 years. Out of the 189, 130 had babies with normal birth weight, while 59 had low birth weight. The infant with the lowest weight was 709 grams, and the highest weighed 4990 grams. On average, the birth weight was 2944.66 grams. 50.8 percent of the infants were white, 13.8% black, and 35.4% from other races. Additionally, 39.2 % of the women smoked during pregnancy, while 60.8 percent did not.
5.2 Tables and Graphs
Race
Frequency
Percent
Cum. percent
1=White
96
50.8
50.8
2= Black
26
13.8
64.6
3= Other
67
35.4
100.0
Total
189
100.0
100.0
Smoking Status
0 = Did not Smoke
115
60.8
60.8
1 = Smoked
74
39.2
100.0
Total
189
100.0
100.0
Low
...