Publication:

A study on health morbidities among under five children in relation to birth weight in urban health centre field practice area at tertiary care centre, Bidar, Karnataka, India

Background Low birth weight (LBW) i. e. birth weight <2500 grams is a major public health problem in many developing countries. About 30% of babies born in India are LBW. Birth weight of an infant is the single most important determinant of its chance of survival, healthy growth and development. This study is to correlate the health of under five children in relation to birth weight.

Methods Community based cross sectional study carried in urban health centre field practice area of Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences Bidar. 250 under five children were surveyed and findings were recorded.

Results Among the 250 under five children surveyed 68 were LBW children and 182 were normal birth weight children.164 children were having acute respiratory tract infection (ARI), 121 were underweight, 21 were having vitamin A deficiency, 145 were anaemic, 25 were having diarrhoea and 130 were having fever.

Conclusions underweight, Vitamin A deficiency, diarrhoea and fever were significantly associated with LBW babies compared to babies with normal birth weight.