Euro area | Low-birthweight babies (% of births)

Low-birthweight babies are newborns weighing less than 2,500 grams, with the measurement taken within the first hour of life, before significant postnatal weight loss has occurred. Development relevance: Low birth-weight, which is associated with maternal malnutrition, raises the risk of infant mortality and stunts growth in infancy and childhood. There is also emerging evidence that low-birth-weight babies are more prone to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Low birth-weight can arise as a result of a baby being born too soon or too small for gestational age. Babies born prematurely, who are also small for their gestational age, have the worst prognosis. In low- and middle-income countries low birth-weight stems primarily from poor maternal health and nutrition. Three factors have the most impact: poor maternal nutritional status before conception, mother's short stature (due mostly to under-nutrition and infections during childhood), and poor nutrition during pregnancy (UNICEF Data, https://data.unicef.org/).
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Euro area
Records
63
Source
Euro area | Low-birthweight babies (% of births)
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1980
1981
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1984
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1991
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2000 7.18522362
2001 7.20665949
2002 7.22881777
2003 7.24937796
2004 7.26474521
2005 7.28673844
2006 7.30957266
2007 7.32556715
2008 7.36413286
2009 7.38241259
2010 7.40714548
2011 7.42849989
2012 7.43348571
2013 7.42548459
2014 7.42366045
2015 7.41255204
2016 7.38761988
2017 7.36565107
2018 7.34457328
2019 7.33045495
2020 7.32176261
2021
2022

Euro area | Low-birthweight babies (% of births)

Low-birthweight babies are newborns weighing less than 2,500 grams, with the measurement taken within the first hour of life, before significant postnatal weight loss has occurred. Development relevance: Low birth-weight, which is associated with maternal malnutrition, raises the risk of infant mortality and stunts growth in infancy and childhood. There is also emerging evidence that low-birth-weight babies are more prone to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Low birth-weight can arise as a result of a baby being born too soon or too small for gestational age. Babies born prematurely, who are also small for their gestational age, have the worst prognosis. In low- and middle-income countries low birth-weight stems primarily from poor maternal health and nutrition. Three factors have the most impact: poor maternal nutritional status before conception, mother's short stature (due mostly to under-nutrition and infections during childhood), and poor nutrition during pregnancy (UNICEF Data, https://data.unicef.org/).
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Euro area
Records
63
Source