Better healthcare? Why babies in India are being born heavier than ever

The highest percentage of babies with low birth weights was reported from the national capital territory of Delhi

 

Child health care: Indian babies are being born heavier than ever, a sign of better-educated, richer and more aware mothers and better healthcare.

Only 18% of live births over five years (2010-15) had low birth weight (less than 2.5 kg)–an important indicator of early exposure to childhood morbidity, mortality–down from 22% a decade ago, according to new national health data.

The highest percentage of babies with low birth weights was reported from the national capital territory of Delhi, according to the final report of the National Family Health Survey, 2015-16 (NFHS-4), released on January 12, 2018.

“Children who weigh less than 2.5 kilograms at birth are considered to have a higher-than-average risk of early childhood death,” the NFHS-4 report said.

Started in 1992, the NFHS is an important source of national data on indicators such as family welfare, maternal and child health, nutrition and other health issues.

Birth weight rises with mothers who spend more years at school and greater household wealth.

Of 249,949 live births over five years (2010-15) preceding the NFHS-4 survey, 78% or 194,833 births had a written record of the child’s weight at birth or the mother was able to recall the child’s weight, up from 34% in NFHS-3 (2005-06), a sign of growing awareness.

Only 15% births to mothers with 12 or more years of education were low-birth weight babies compared with 20% to mothers with no education.