Birth weight
[8] Numerous studies have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to show links between birth weight and later-life conditions, including diabetes, obesity, tobacco smoking, and intelligence.
[22] Certain medications (e.g. for high blood pressure or epilepsy) can put a mother at a higher risk for delivering a low birth weight baby.
Those mothers who have stressful events during pregnancy, especially during the first and second trimester, are at higher risk to deliver low birth weight babies.
[26][27][28] Women who experienced abuse (physical, sexual, or emotional) during pregnancy are also at increased risk of delivering a low birth weight baby.
[29] For example, in a study completed by Witt et al., those women who experienced a stressful event (i.e. death of close family member, infertility issues, separation from partner) prior to conception had 38% more of a chance to have a very low birth weight baby compared to those who had not experienced a stressful life event.
[35] Subsequently, there has been growing research supporting the idea of racial discrimination as a risk factor for low birth weight.
In one study by Collins et al., evidence suggested that African American mothers who experienced high levels of racial discrimination were at significantly higher risk of delivering a very low-birth weight baby compared to African American mothers who had not experienced racial discrimination.
[41][42][43] Most babies admitted to the NICU are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy or have low birth weight which is less than 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg).
[46] Studies have investigated how a person's birth weight can influence their future life, including potential links with obesity, diabetes and intelligence.
[51] Babies that have a low birth weight are thought to have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in later life.
[57] Adiponectin levels are positively related with birth weight and BMI in babies with an increase of risk of type 2 diabetes.
[41] Because low birth weight babies can require more extensive care, it places a financial burden on communities.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced an initiative to have a thirty percent reduction in low birth weight worldwide.
[60] The start of prenatal care is very important to help prevent low birth weight and early medical problems.
[64] One essential action to increase normal birth weights is to have affordable, accessible, and culturally sensitive prenatal care worldwide.
Other prevention efforts include smoking cessation programs, food-distribution systems, stress reduction and social service supports.
