Changing Lubbock - Facts - Low Birth Weight Babies

Babies born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces (2,500 grams) are considered low birth weight.
Low birth weight babies are at increased risk of serious health problems as newborns, lasting disabilities and even death.
About 1 in every 13 babies in the United States is born with low birth weight.
Advances in newborn medical care have greatly reduced the number of deaths associated with low birth weight. However, a small percentage of survivors develop mental retardation, learning problems, cerebral palsy, and vision and hearing loss.

There are two main reasons why a baby may be born with low birth weight:

Premature birth: Babies born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy are called premature. About 67 percent of low-birth weight babies are premature.
The earlier a baby is born, the less it is likely to weigh and the less developed its organs will be.
Very low-birth weight babies: (Those who weigh less than 3 pounds, 5 ounces or 1,500 grams) have the highest risk of health problems.
Small-for-date babies: (Also called small-for-gestational age or growth-restricted): These babies may be full-term but are underweight.
Some of these babies are healthy, even though they are small. They may be small simply because their parents are smaller than average.
Others have low birth weight because something slowed or halted their growth in the uterus.
Some babies are both premature and growth-restricted. These babies are at high risk for health problems.