Infant Health: An Analysis of Birth Weight, Risk Factors, and Outcomes

This report examines infant health, focusing on the critical aspects of birth weight and associated risk factors. The report presents an overview of different birth weight classifications, including normal birth weight, low birth weight (LBW), very low birth weight (VLBW), extremely low birth weight (ELBW), and their relation to gestational age. It highlights the importance of early infant care and its impact on survival and future health. The report then delves into a study involving 1138 pregnant women, identifying 25 risk factors through multivariate logistic regression analysis, with 12 factors deemed most significant. The findings emphasize the influence of factors like late childbearing, previous LBW babies, high-risk pregnancies, smoking, and maternal illiteracy on birth weight. The report concludes by advocating for comprehensive health policies targeting the determinants of gestational duration and intrauterine growth to reduce LBW in newborns, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to improve infant health outcomes.

Running Head: INFANT HEALTH 1
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INFANT HEALTH 2
An infant, or neonate, is a child under 28 days of age. During these first 28 days, the risk of
dying is higher for a child. Appropriate feeding and care during this time are important, for
improving the child’s survival chances and for healthier life ahead.
Birth weight table:-
Normal Birth Weight Birth Weight around 3.2 kg
Low Birth Weight (LBW) Birth Weight less than 2.5 kg
Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Birth Weight less than 1.5 kg
Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW) Birth Weight less than 1 kg
Small for Gestational Age (SGA) Birth Weight less than the 10th Percentile
Appropriate for Gestational Age (AGA) Normal Birth Weight
Large for Gestational Age (LGA) Birth Weight greater than the 90th Percentile
Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) Lower Birth Weight compared to a baby’s
gestational age.
By regression analysis conducted, and 1138 women were enrolled. 16 weeks before the gestation
the pregnant women were enrolled.
The outcome was as follows:-
There were total 25 risk factors that were identified and were logged in for multivariate logistic
regression analysis. There were 12 factors that were considered most important for birth weight
(Groer et al., 2015)

INFANT HEALTH 3
Source: -www.scielo.br

INFANT HEALTH 4
The study reveled that there are many factors like late child bearing, previous LWB baby, high-
risk pregnancy, smoking, or maternal illiteracy that are associated with the child’s birth weight.
The policy in need of development that targets to decrease the LWB and especially for a specific
targeted population. These policies should be directed at the determinants of gestational duration
and intrautreine growth. Hence it is concluded that there is a need of a comprehensive
approaches for the health that will help in reducing the problem of LBW in new born babies
(Kizhakethalackal, Mukherjee and Alvi, 2013).

INFANT HEALTH 5
References
Groer, M., Gregory, K., Louis-Jacques, A., Thibeau, S. and Walker, W. (2015). The very low
birth weight infant microbiome and childhood health. Birth Defects Research Part C: Embryo
Today: Reviews, 105(4), pp.252-264.
Kizhakethalackal, E., Mukherjee, D. and Alvi, E. (2013). Quantile regression analysis of health-
aid and infant mortality: a note. Applied Economics Letters, 20(13), pp.1197-1201.