Babies with low birth weight: trends in world, India

In 2011, The Indian Statistical Institute had reported that nearly 20% of newborns have low birth weight in India. At the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, officials said the prevalence of low birth weight was between 15% and 20%.

neonatal careneonatal deaths, neonatal deaths in india, who , world health organisation, babies low birth weight, low birth weight, infant healthcare

India has made progress in improving newborn care by building 834 newborn care units in the last decade, LSHTM officials said. (Source: Getty Images)

In the largest such international study, researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have found that one in every seven babies were born with low birth weight in 2015. The study was published online Wednesday in The Lancet Global Health.

Data were collated from over 281 million births between 2000 and 2015. In 2015, 20.5 million babies (14.6%) were found to have been born with low birth weight — less than 2.5 kg. While the prevalence in 2015 was lower than the 17.5% (22.9 million babies with low birth weight) in 2000, over 90% of the low-weight babies in 2015 were born in low- and middle-income countries.

Takeaways for India

The researchers said they were unable to arrive at national estimates for India because only partial data were available. Lead author Hannah Blencowe, from LSHTM, told The Indian Express that the national estimate and time trend for India is not reported. The National Family Health Survey (2005-06) was included in the analysis but for the latest NFHS (2015-16), only data for a single year met the inclusion criteria and these partial data were used.

“Every newborn must be weighed, yet worldwide, we don’t have a record for the birth weight of nearly one-third of all newborns,” said co-author Julia Krasevec, from UNICEF. India is among 47 countries (including 40 low- and middle-income countries that account for almost a quarter of all births worldwide) which had insufficient data.

neonatal deaths, neonatal deaths in india, who , world health organisation, babies low birth weight, low birth weight, infant healthcare

The authors noted, however, that the estimated prevalence of low birth weight in South Asia has decreased from 32.3% in 2000 to 26.4% in 2015. They are optimistic that India, in view of its large population, will have made an important contribution to this decline. India has made progress in improving newborn care by building 834 newborn care units in the last decade, LSHTM officials said.

In 2011, The Indian Statistical Institute had reported that nearly 20% of newborns have low birth weight in India. At the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, officials said the prevalence of low birth weight was between 15% and 20%.

Rest of world

In high-income countries in Europe, North America, and Australia and New Zealand, there has been virtually no progress in reducing low birthweight rates since 2000, according to the analysis. However, prevalence is low in most of these countries. One of the lowest rates of low birth weight in 2015 was estimated in Sweden (2.4%). This compares to around 7% in some high-income countries including the USA (8%), the UK (7%), Australia (6.5%), and New Zealand (5.7%).

Story continues below this ad

The regions making the fastest progress are those with the highest numbers of low birth weight babies, Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, with a yearly decline in low birth weight prevalence of 1.4% and 1.1%, respectively, between 2000 and 2015.

The study cautions that the annual decline will need to more than double to meet the global target of a 30% reduction between 2012 and 2025 – including in high-income countries.. The authors have also called for immediate action to tackle underlying causes of low birth weight to ensure clinical care for small babies and for all babies to be weighed at birth.

“Our estimates indicate that national governments are doing too little to reduce low birth weight. We have seen very little change over 15 years, even in high-income settings where low birth weight is often due to prematurity as a result of high maternal age, smoking, caesarean sections not medically indicated and fertility treatments that increase the risk of multiple births,” said Blencowe.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More