Evaluation of Adjustment Methods Used to Determine Prevalence of Low Birth-weight Babies at a Rural Hospital in Andhra Pradesh, India.

ABSTRACT

Accurate reporting of prevalence of low birth weight (LBW) is important for monitoring health of a population. LBW is often underestimated in developing countries due to heaping of the data at 2.5 kg. UNICEF uses an average adjustment factor of 25% to re-classify babies listed as exactly 2.5 kg into the LBW category. From October 2009 to February 2010, we weighed 859 consecutive live births at a rural hospital in Andhra Pradesh, India, using analog and digital scales to evaluate the relative validity of the adjustment factor. Signifi cantly more babies weighed exactly 2.5 kg on analog (13.4%) versus digital (2.2%) scales, showing heaping. Percentage of LBW by digital method (29.5%) was signifi cantly higher compared to the analog method (23%) and with adjustment factors (26.4%). Conventional methods of adjusting birth-weight data underestimate the prevalence of LBW. Sensitive digital weighing machines or better adjustment methods are needed to monitor LBW in developing countries.