Low Birth Weight, Very Low Birth Weight Rates of Newborn Infants in Korea

,; Shin, Son Moon; Chang, Young Pyo; Lee, Eun Sil; Lee, Young Ah; Son, Dong Woo; Kim, Min Hee; Choi, Young Ryoon

Abstract

This study was conducted to obtain the low birth weight (LBW) rate and the very low birth weight (VLBW) rate of newborn infants based on a large population in Korea. We analyzed 108, 486 live birth data, collected from 75 hospitals and clinics located in Korea, whose gestational age (GA) were greater than 23 weeks, for 1 yr from January 1st to December 31st 2001. These data included birth weight, GA, gender of the infants, delivery type, maternal age, and the presence of multiple pregnancies. The mean birth weight and GA of a crude population are 3, 188+/-518 g and 38.7+/-2.1 weeks, respectively. The LBW and the VLBW rates are 7.2% and 1.4%, respectively. The preterm birth rate (less than 37 completed weeks of gestation) is 8.4% and the extremely preterm birth rate (less than 32 completed weeks of gestation) is 1.7%. The mean birth weights for female infants, multiple births, and births delivered by cesarean section were lower than those for male, singletons, and births delivered vaginally. The risk of delivering LBW or VLBW infant was higher for the teenagers and the elderly women (aged 35 yr and more). Although our study did not include the total birth data in 2001, rates of LBW and VLBW which we obtained, could be helpful for future studies on birth weight, frequency of high risk infants and perinatal risk factors.