Middle income | 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
Middle income
Records
63
Source
Middle income | Low-birthweight babies (% of births)
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1981
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1988
1989
1990
1991
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1994
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1996
1997
1998
1999
2000 18.01836739
2001 18.07473943
2002 18.02062276
2003 17.92990042
2004 17.75025644
2005 17.50669989
2006 17.33550929
2007 17.12009181
2008 16.92237169
2009 16.80119957
2010 16.63356893
2011 16.20944971
2012 15.8115705
2013 15.89409411
2014 15.50395727
2015 15.66635444
2016 15.30286935
2017 15.28768754
2018 15.48483588
2019 15.41731368
2020 15.64577016
2021
2022
Middle income | 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
Middle income
Records
63
Source