Birth Weight Status of Newborn and Its Relationship With Other Anthropometric Parameters

Background : Birth weight has been accepted as the most important reliable index of the health status of the community and is an indicator of neonatal morbidity and mortality. In India weight at birth is not recorded because almost 80% of the deliveries take place at home or at rural health centre where weighing scales tend to be either non available or defective. Objective: To find the best surrogate parameter to determine birth weight and cut off values of various anthropometric measurements to identify low birth weight babies. Material and Methods : All the term babies born in Krishna hospital, Karad were weighed at birth and measured within 24 hours of delivery with the help of a flexible non stretchable measuring tape capable of measuring up to 0.1 cm. Results: 1028 newborn infants were included in the study period of two years. Chest circumference and thigh circumference are among the best surrogate parameters to identify low birth weight babies. The cut off value of chest circumference was 30.4 cms and 30.6 cms and thigh circumference was 13.6 cms and 13.8 cms in male and female neonates respectively. Conclusion: These parameter can be used at community level by health workers for identification of high risk and low birth weight babies so that their timely referral can thereby help in reducing infant mortality in rural areas.