LOW BIRTH WEIGHT: GLOBAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, PRETERM BIRTH, AND INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RESTRICTION WITH A FOCUS ON SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA

Authors

  • Krishna Badal Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of International Students, Asia International University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55640/

Keywords:

Epidemiology, LBW, preterm, IUGR

Abstract

Low birth weight (LBW), defined as birth weight less than 2500 g irrespective of gestational age, is a major global public health issue associated with increased neonatal morbidity and mortality. Globally, nearly 20 million infants are born with LBW each year, accounting for approximately 14–15% of all births. The highest prevalence occurs in low- and middle-income regions, particularly South Asia. The two major mechanisms leading to LBW are preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). This review summarizes global trends in LBW, with emphasis on South and Central Asia, and discusses the contributions of prematurity, fetal growth restriction, and major maternal and environmental risk factors.

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References

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Published

2026-03-21

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 03 (2026): Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences and Innovations

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors retain the copyright of their manuscripts, and all Open Access articles are disseminated under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC-BY), which licenses unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is appropriately cited. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations.

How to Cite

LOW BIRTH WEIGHT: GLOBAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, PRETERM BIRTH, AND INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RESTRICTION WITH A FOCUS ON SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA. (2026). Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences and Innovations, 5(03), 1611-1617. https://doi.org/10.55640/

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