A Study of Midarm Circumference and Chest Circumference as a Predictor of Low Birth Weight

Abstract

Background: 60–80% of neonatal deaths are due to low birth weight (LBW <2500 g) in developing countries.Aim & Objective:The objectives of this study was to identify a suitable anthropometric surrogate and to identify LBW babies in the resource limited settings like rural areas where 80–90% deliveries take place to screen the LBW babies.Subject and Method:This is a prospective observational study conducted in department of pediatrics of tertiary care hospital and medical college of western India. A total of 519 newborns were studied by random sampling method. BW and other anthropometric measurements were taken within 24 h of birth. Result:Mean birth weight significantlyincreases with increasing value of anthropometric measurement, all key anthropometric parameters were significantly correlated to each other. The correlation with birth weight is more for chest circumference (0.58)than mid upper arm circumference (0.54). Conclusion:CC is the better measurement to identify low birth-weight babies. Measurement of both MUAC and CC is of little additional value in predicting LBW babies. Chest circumference is a simple, quick, and valid screening tool for identifying LBW neonates in a community setting where there are problems of nonavailability of weighing scales.