Essay On Low Birth Weight

Low birth weight (LBW) is a major public health problem in developing countries including India. The epidemiological observations depicted that infants weighing lesser than 2500 g are approximately 20 times more likely to die than heavier babies, closely associated with the fetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. 1 It also leads to inhibited growth and cognitive development 1 and also associated with chronic diseases later in life. 2 According to World Health Organization (WHO), definition of “Low birth weight” is birth weight of newborn is 2500gm or less. The term “very low birth weight” refers to birth weight of newborn less than1500gm. “Extremely low birth weight” refers birth weight of newborn 1000gm or less and the term

The number of low birth weight babies is concentrated in two regions of the developing world: Asia and Africa. Seventy-two per cent of low birth weight infants in developing countries are born in Asia where most births also take place, and 22 per cent are born in Africa. India alone accounts for 40 per cent of low birth weight births in the developing world and more than half of those in Asia. There are more than 1 million infants born with low birth weight in China and nearly 8 million in India (2004). Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania have the lowest number of low birth weight infants, with 1.2 million and 27,000, respectively.10 According to a study by the Ministry of Health of the Union Government, 30 per cent of the infants born in India were Low Birth Weight Babies, 10 per cent were less than 2 kg, three per cent weighed less than 1.5 kg, and 0.7 per cent weighed less than one kg. The mortality rate among the low birth weight babies is unacceptably very high. As mothers, mostly in rural areas are illiterate so they are not utilizing the healthcare facilities which are available in the hospital so this leads to intra-uterine growth retardation and then low birth weight