Infant low birth weight (LBW) is when babies weigh less than five pounds, eight ounces at birth. LBW often occurs in babies who are born prematurely, before 37 weeks of gestation. It is also common in multiple birth situations. According to the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, about 7 percent of all babies born in the U.S. each year have LBW. The number is increasing, potentially due to the fact
Low birth weight (LBW) is defined as a birth weight of a liveborn infant of less than 2,500 g (5 pounds 8 ounces) regardless of gestational age.[1] Subcategories include very low birth weight (VLBW), which is less than 1500 g (3 pounds 5 ounces), and extremely low birth weight (ELBW), which is less than 1000 g (2 pounds 3 ounces).[2] Normal weight at term delivery is 2500–4200 g (5 pounds 8 ounces – 9 pounds 4 ounces).