Percentage of Births with Low Birthweight.
1) Live births with a recorded birth weight under 2500g and a gestational age of at least 37 complete weeks as a percentage of all live births with recorded birth weight and a gestational age of at least 37 complete weeks since 2005. Births without a recorded birth weight are excluded.
2) Percentage of live and still births occurring in the respective calendar year with birthweights under 2500 grams since 2004. This indicator includes all births.
3) Percentage of live births with birthweights under 2500 grams since 1999.The percentage of low birthweight live births is calculated as the number of low birthweight live births divided by the total number of live births where birthweight is stated, and expressed as a percentage. This indicator is no longer being updated.
Allocation to geographical area is based on mother’s place of usual residence.
An association has also been shown between low birth weight and adverse health in later childhood and adulthood.
Low birthweight is an enduring aspect of childhood morbidity, a major factor in infant mortality and has serious consequences for health in later life (NICE). There are social inequalities in low birthweight in England and Wales and these inequalities are likely to affect childhood and adult health inequalities in the future, hence strategies will need to address differences in low birthweight and further monitoring of trends is therefore desirable (Moser K, Li L, and Power C, Social inequalities in low birthweight in England and Wales: trends and implications for future population health, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2003).
Births for the City of London have been included with those for Hackney.
Data for term babies from the PHOF, data for all babies from NHS IC.
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