LOW BIRTH WEIGHT  

BY SAURABH TIWARI
SERIAL NO. 110
MEASURING BABY
 It is defined as measurement of birth weight,
length and head circumference,by which the
health and maturity of the baby is evaluated.
COMPONENTS
 BIRTH WEIGHT
• Should be taken within the first hour of life
• Normal value: 2.5-4.0 kg
• Measured by weighing scale(naked baby is place
on a clean towel on scale pan)
• In a home delivery,measured by salter weighing
scale.
AGE WEIGHT INCREMENTS

0-3 Months 200gms per week

4-6 Months 150 gms per week

7-9 Months 100gms per week

10-12 Months 50 gms per week

1-2 YR 2.5 kg per year

3-5 YR 2 kg per year
LENGTH
 Should be recorded within 3 days but not
immediately
 Average birth length in India- 50 cm
 Measured by a infantometer

AGE (YEARS) HEIGHT INCREMENTS (CMS/YEAR)

1st 25

2nd 12

3rd 9

4th 7

5th 6
 HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE
 This changes during first three days due to moulting during
labour
 Taken with a measuring tape at the maximum circumference of
head in occipitofrontal diameter
 At birth head circumference is about 34cm, which is 2cm more
than chest circumference

PURPOSE OF TAKING THESE MEASUREMENTS

• Assess the baby’s size against known standards of population.
• To compare the size with estimated period of gestation.
• To provide a baseline against which subsequent progress can be
measured.
At risk infants

 Birth weight less than 2.5kg

 Twins
 Birth order 5 and more
 Artificial feeding
 Failure to gain wt. during 3 successive months
 Children with PEM, diarrhoea
 Working mother, one parent.
 LOW BIRTH WEIGHT
 Birth weight less than 2500gms.
 Single most important determinant of chances of survival, growth
and development of baby.

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO WEIGHT

 Low birth weight: <2500gms
 Very low birth weight: <1500gms
 Extremely low birth weight: <1000gms

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO GESTATIONAL AGE

 Preterm: <37 weeks
 Fullterm: 37-42 weeks
 Post term: >42 weeks
PREVENTION
 DIRECT MEASURES
o Prevention of malnutrition: Nutritional supplements under ICDS ,
nutrition education
o Prevention of anaemia: IFA tablets
o Control of infections: Early diagnosis and treatment
o Avoidance of smoking, alcohol, sternous work
 INDIRECT MEASURES
o Prevent early marriage
o Prevent early child birth
o Adequate spacing between successive pregnancies
o Limitation of family size
o Improve social status of women
o Improve maternal health services
 IMPORTANCE
 Single most important factor determining the survival
chances of child.
 It is related to PEM.
 Reflects inadequate nutrition and ill health of mother.
 Imp. Guide to level of care needed by babies.
 Associated with long term neurological disability,
impaired language development, impaired academic
achievement and increased risk of developing chronic
diseases like CVS diseases, diabetes.
 KANGAROO
 DESCRIPTION:
MOTHER CARE
Care provided by recently delivered mother to her newborn low birth wt.
child, by placing baby between her breasts in direct skin to skin contact.
Introduced in Colombia in 1979 by Drs. Hectar Martinez and Edzar Ray.

 COMPONENTS OF KMC
• Hips in frog like abduction
 KANGAROO POSITION:
• Baby in kangaroo bag placed on chest
of mother
• Infant in vertical position
KANGAROO FEEDING POLICY
• Feed when child is awake, alert
• Exclusive breast feeding
• Feed once every 90-120 min
• Promote suckling
• If no suckling use spoon, tube method

 EARLY DISCHARGE AND FOLLOW UP

• Weight gain >40 grams per day for 5 days
• Feeding well on breast milk
• Temperature maintained
• No evidence of illness
• Mother confident
• Follow up by health worker at home
BENEFITS OF KMC
 BENEFITS TO BABY
 Natural incubator, physiological instability, reduced nosocomial infections,
cognitive development, early growth, safety
 BENEFITS TO MOTHER
 Active involvement in care, relaxed, confident, bonding, satisfaction
 BENEFITS TO FAMILY
 Economical, early ambulation, bonding
 BENEFITS TO HOSPITAL
 Saves materials, saves money, saves manpower
 BENEFITS TO COUNTRY
 Reduce NNMR, reduce IMR, increased child intelligence
thank you