Low Birth Weight at a Glance...

"A few grams of extra weight can make all the difference in the world to a new born baby." Globe & Mail, August 12, 1994.

The Canadian Situation

• Infants weighing less than 2 500 grams (5.5 pounds) at birth are considered to be low birth weight. In 1990, almost 22,000 low birth weight babies were born in Canada.

• The rate of low birth weight in Canada has not changed appreciably over the past decade: 6% of live births in 1980 compared to 5.5% in 1990.

• There are provincial and territorial differences in the proportion of babies who are low birth weight. In 1990, Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia reported rates higher than the national average.

• The low birth weight rate for babies born in several countries including Norway, Finland, Sweden, France, and Switzerland is lower than the Canadian rate.
  

Consequences

• Low birth weight babies are at a much greater risk of death, disease, and disability. This can include cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, visual problems and respiratory problems that may remain with low birth weight children the rest of their lives.

• In 1990, over 15% of the deaths occurring in the 1st month of life were infants who were born too soon or too small.
  

Associated Factors

• The factors that contribute to low birth weight are complex. They include broad determinants of health, such as maternal age, multiple births, socio-economic status, social support and the beliefs and values of society. Other maternal factors include nutrition, work, personal habits such as smoking, alcohol and drug use and access to health services.

• Women over 45 years and under 20 years of age are more likely to have a baby who is low birth weight.

• Poor families are at higher risk of having low birth weight babies. The percentage is 1.4 times higher in the poorest neighbourhoods than in richest neighbourhoods.

• A significant number of women live with violence or fear of violence. Women who experience violence during pregnancy are more likely to have a low birth weight baby.

• A large proportion of domestic assaults (21%) against women occurred during pregnancy - over half a million women over the age of 16 have experienced violence by a partner during pregnancy.

• Stress along with violence can have a major effect on health. Approximately one woman in 10 aged 25 to 44 found their lives very stressful.

• Women who smoke are more likely to have a baby that is born too soon or too small. In 1990, one woman in three in the childbearing years reported that they were currently smoking.

• Alcohol consumption is a socially acceptable norm of our Canadian society. We do not know precisely how many babies are born in Canada with fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol effects.

• Multiple births are at increased risk of low birth weight. The rate of triplets and higher order births increased dramatically from 8 to 22 per 100,000 births between 1974 and 1990.
  

Solutions

• Although low birth weight prevention is complex, it is unquestionably a problem which is worthy of a national effort - not only to improve the lives of children and families, but to ensure that related health dollars are used cost-effectively.

• Any serious examination of this problem needs to consider the overall social environment and adopt a community-wide approach.
  

The Health of Canada's Children: A CICH Profile (2nd Edition) published by the Canadian Institute of Child Health, 1995.

Posted by: the Canadian Institute of Child Health, September 1996.

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