According to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, infants with birth weights of
less than 2,500g are classified as low birth weight (LBW).1) Annually there are almost 23 million
LBW infants worldwide per 121 million births, a high proportion of which are in developing
countries.2) LBW is not only a sensitive indicator for predicting the chances of both infant
survival and healthy childhood growth and development, but is also a reflector of the present
and past health status of the mother. LBW is a leading cause of prenatal and neonatal deaths,
and as such it remains a worldwide issue and one of the most important public health problems