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Nutrition and Health in Developing Countries pp 57–69Cite as

Low Birth Weight and Perinatal Mortality

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Abstract

It is widely recognized that weight at birth is an important indicator of fetal and neonatal health for both individuals and populations. Birth weight in particular is strongly associated with fetal, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality; infant and childhood morbidity; and long-term growth and development (1,2). According to the World Bank/World Health Organization (WHO) study of the global burden of disease, low birth weight (LBW) and other perinatal causes are a leading cause of death and disability (3). Of the 2.44 million global deaths resulting from perinatal causes, 97% occur in developing country settings. Thus LBW and perinatal mortality are public health problems of crucial importance in such settings.

Keywords

  • Preterm Birth
  • Gestational Weight Gain
  • Perinatal Mortality
  • Emergency Obstetric Care
  • Early Neonatal Death

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors
  1. Michael S. Kramer
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  2. Cesar G. Victora
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Division of Ocular Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Richard D. Semba MD, MPH

  2. Helen Keller International — Regional Headquarters, Jakarta, Indonesia

    Martin W. Bloem MD, PhD

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Kramer, M.S., Victora, C.G. (2001). Low Birth Weight and Perinatal Mortality. In: Semba, R.D., Bloem, M.W. (eds) Nutrition and Health in Developing Countries. Nutrition ◊ and ◊ Health. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-225-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-225-8_3

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