Utilization of hospital birth weights and mortality as indicators of health problems in infancy

Three indicators of health problems in infancy are proposed: the frequency of low weight births, the frequency of births of deficient weight, and mortality rates on the first day of life. To serve as a basis for comparison with the results of hospital studies, the distributions of birth weights obtained from two projects of the Inter American Investigation of Mortality in Childhood and from two hospitals are provided as examples. These distributions of birth weights were found to vary with the age of the mothers. High proportions of the infants born to young mothers had low or deficient weights. Differences were also observed among the places studied in the distribution of birth weights. The lowest neonatal death rate was found for the group of infants with birth weights of 3,501-4,000 grams. Neonatal mortality was over twice as high in the group of newborns with deficient birth weights of 2,501-3,000 grams. This group also contributed significantly to post-neonatal mortality. It is recommended that the use of hospital data on immaturity and on the outcome of pregnancy be taught in medical courses on preventive medicine, nursing, midwifery, and medical records.