Clinical Study Sex , Conception Interval , Gestational Age , Apgar Score , and Anthropometric Surrogates in relation to Birth Weight of Bangladeshi Newborns : A Cross-Sectional Study

In developing countries, where about 75% of births occur at home or in the community, logistic problems prevent the weighing of every newborn child. Baby born with a weight less than 2,500 g is considered low birth weight, since below this value birthspecific infant mortality begins to rise rapidly. In Bangladesh, the prevalence of low birth weight is unacceptably high. Infant’s sex differences, birth to conception interval, gestational age, and Apgar score are associated with infant birth weight. To screen lowbirth-weight babies, simple anthropometric parameters can be used in rural areaswhere 80–90%of deliveries take place. A sample of 343 newborn singletons, 186male and 157 female babies, were studied in Southwest region of Bangladesh to examine the birthweight status of newborns and to identify the relationship between birth weight and other anthropometric parameters of newborns. The mean birth weight was 2754.81 ± 465.57 g, and 28.6% were low-birth-weight (<2,500 g) babies. All key anthropometric parameters of the newborns significantly correlated with infant birth weight (P = 0.05). Mid upper arm circumference and chest circumference were identified as the optimal surrogate indicators of LBW babies. In the community where weighing of newborns is difficult, these measurements can be used to identify the LBW babies.