Science Letters

Advanced Comprehension of Low Birth Weight: A Review

Furqan Nasir 1,2, Monica 1,2, Sinarinzi Pamela 1,2, Li Zhong Tang 1,2, Qian Li Juan 1,2, Nasser Ali Malik 3, Jiang Li 1,2*

1Department of Pediatrics, Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, P.R. China

2Department of NICU, Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, P.R. China

3Department of General Surgery, Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, P.R. China

Abstract

Low birth weight (LBW) has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), a weight at the birth time of less than 2,500g. The percentage of LBW is mostly considered as an indicator of health at population-level worldwide, and attenuating LBW incidence is the most important health strategy around the globe. Multiple elements influence the period of pregnancy and fetal growth, and consequently, the birth weight. Greater than 20 million newborns worldwide, representing 15% globally of total births bears LBW, 95.6% of these newborns belong to underdeveloped countries. The World Health Assembly has formulated a recent goal to decrease the incidence of LBW by 30% during 2010 and 2025. Among the major challenges in estimating the occurrence of the LWB is the fact that greater than half of newborns in the under-developed countries are not being weighed at the time of their birth. Previously, most measurements of LBW for under-developed countries were established on statistics collected from health facilities. Despite, these estimates are prejudiced for the majority of under-developed countries because the majority of newborns are not born in health centers. Since the last few decades, household inspection estimates have become much more extensively available, and several new methods have been adjusted to these estimates that rectify the underreporting of birth weights. In the long run, additional research in genuine LBW data collection methodology and improved interventions in the social health determinants will be the key role factors that will bring further improvements in reducing the proportion of LBW.