A low birth weight is when a baby is born weighing less than 5 pounds and 8 ounces.
A baby is considered to have a very low birth weight if they weigh less than 3 pounds and 5 ounces at birth.
The average newborn baby weighs around 7.6 lbs although even babies born at least 5 pounds and 8 ounces are considered a good birth weigh.
causes of low birth weight are prematurity when babies are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy and have less time to grow and gain weight.
Intrauterine growth restriction is also another cause of low birth weight.
Intrauterine growth restriction is a condition in which the baby does not grow well during pregnancy which can be caused by the baby's health, mother's health and problems with the placenta.
Low birth weight in babies can lead to a host of poor health outcomes including NDCs later in life, cognitive development, inhibited growth and fetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity.
The term low birth weight. 'Low birth weight' (LBW) has been defined as first weight recorded within hours of birth of <2500 g.
Very low birth weight (VLBW) is accepted as <1500 g and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) is <1000 g.
An extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infant is defined as one with a birth weight of less than 1000 g (2 lb, 3 oz).
Most extremely low birth weight infants are also the youngest of premature newborns, usually born at 27 weeks' gestational age or younger.