What are the problems associated with low birth weight?

What are the problems associated with low birth weight?

Low-birth-weight babies often have problems. The baby’s tiny body is not as strong as a baby of normal birth weight. They may have a harder time eating, gaining weight, and fighting infection. Low-birth-weight babies often have a hard time staying warm because they don’t have much fat on their bodies.

What are the consequences of low birth weight in childhood and adulthood?

Babies with a very low birth weight may be at much higher risk of depression, ADHD or other psychiatric conditions in adulthood, compared with those born a healthy weight, and steroid use just before birth may increase this risk even further. This is according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.

Does low birth weight relate to other issues later in life?

WASHINGTON — Babies born with extremely low birth weight are not only at risk for physical problems but are also more likely to experience mental health problems later in life, according to an analysis of research conducted over nearly 30 years.

How does low birth weight babies affect the community?

Conclusions: Extremely low birth weight was associated with a negative impact on families. Socioeconomic parental risk, but most especially child-related factors such as neurodevelopmental and the functional impact of chronic conditions, predicted the negative family impact within the extremely low birth weight group.

Can a 2 kg baby survive?

Thanks to the attention they receive, low birth weight babies between 1.5kg and 2.5kg (3.3lbs. and 5.5lbs.) now have a 95% chance of survival, and these babies will catch up with other babies and lead a normal life if there are no other complications.

Are Indian babies smaller?

It has been described as a ‘muscle-thin but adipose’ body composition,[8] because Indian babies are smaller in all anthropometric measurements considered, but with relative preservation of body fat. Several studies have compared the body composition of children born in India with white Caucasian children in the UK.

How does low birth weight affect development?

Some babies with low birthweight are healthy, even though they’re small. But having a low weight at birth can cause serious health problems for some babies. A baby who is very small at birth may have trouble eating, gaining weight and fighting off infections. Some may have long-term health problems, too.

What are the risks for low birth weight babies both short term and long term?

The complications seen most frequently are hypothermia, respiratory abnormalities, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), intracranial hemorrhage, hypoglycemia, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), infection, chronic lung disease, and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Why do Asians have small babies?

A baby’s birth weight depends more on the dad’s ethnic origin than the mom’s, and babies with Asian or South Asian dads are smaller than the Canadian average, regardless of their mom’s ethnicity, a new study suggests.

What is the average weight of an Indian baby?

A normal baby weight at birth should be anywhere between 2.5kg and 4.5kg, with 3.5kg being considered the average. After this, a baby will gain anywhere from 140 grams to 200 grams per week up till the 6-month mark.