Low birth weight (LBW) is an important indicator of maternal and child health because it is associated with adverse infant
outcomes
increases in newborns who have birth weights below 2500 g. However, the WHO recommends using this
value mainly for comparative health statistics, not for clinical care. It suggests that for clinical purposes, individual countries should adopt alternative figures Despite the recommendation, most developing countries
including Cameroon still use 2500 g to define LBW in clinical practice. This has public health implications because since LBW is a serious health problem in these countries, some newborns with LBW may not benefit
from adequate care if an inappropriately lower value were used as a cut-off point, or an unbearable financial
burden could result from the use of a cut-off point higher than what it should actually be