Jessica Christenson

Anthropometric determinants of low birth weight in newborns of Hoshiarpur district (Punjab) - A

hospital based study
Introduction:
In third world countries, statistics of low birth weight are higher than they have ever been
in the past. Birth weight is the most sensitive and reliable indicator of health of the community.
It is universally acknowledged that size at birth is an important indicator of fetal and neonatal
health in the context of both an individual and the population (Onis and Habicht, 1996). Low
birth weight (LBW) is considered to be an important factor compromise healthy survival of
infants. More than 20 million infants worldwide, representing 15.5% of all births are born with
low birth weight, 95.6% of them in developing countries (Bansal, 2012).This is important in the
world today since slower developing countries are not guaranteed exceptional obstetric and
pediatric care. To look at where it all begins, being right off the bat at delivery, these scientists
decided to take a closer view at low birth weight. By gathering this research, Hardeep Kaur and
Rupinder Bansal are establishing a concern and providing information to support that low birth
weight is extremely dangerous for the future of that child. In the Department of Human Biology,
at Punjabi University, the scientists stated above, conducted a research project to determine the
best surrogate anthropometric measurement undermining low birth weight among newborns
within India deliveries (Bansal, 2012).Through this experiment they applied the scientific
method in a hide and seek kind of way. Given the back ground information above, they used
that observation to conduct a research experiment that would state statistics of low birth weight
in Patiala. Though, the scientists never stated what they thought would happen, or a hypothesis,

they were more so looking at how birth weight was remarkably correlated with different types of
selected anthropometric measurements.
Materials and Methods
During this experiment they recorded through an observational and hands on
experimental method, 504 mothers between the ages of 20-35 who were in their last trimester of
their pregnancy, and did not have any type of diagnostic illness. These mothers were followed
around till the day of their delivery. Once that day came these researchers would then record the
date, type and time of delivery, sex of the baby, and measurements of the newborn. (Bansal,
2012) Their techniques involved using instruments such as: an infantometer to measure height,
inelastic tape measure to determine circumference measurements, digital weighing scale for
weight, along with an arpeder skinfold caliper to measure skinfold thickness.
Results and Discussion
After analyzing this experiment, and laying out all of the quantitative data, results were
that 20.23 percent of the total babies were found to have a low birth weight. Among the low birth
weight group of newborns, 56.86% of them were males and 43.14% were females. Within the
normal weight group of newborns, 53.23% were males and 43.14% were females (Bansal,
2012).The outcome did not surprise either of the scientists, but more so supported what they had
been researching and observing in the beginning.
Looking at this data we see that male babies have a higher percentage than female babies.
Because of this we see that the correlation between birth weight verses gender of the newborns
are found to be non- representative. (Bansal, 2012) The results meant that detection of low birth

weight immediately following birth is very important to ensure a childs survival. If they do not
meet a certain quota of what they should be at for certain measurements, it could affect how that
child will grow and survive. Though the scientists did prove what they were trying to show, they
limited their research to the Hoshiarpur district. By researching a broader group of people, not
just the Hoshiarpur district, they would be able to gain a better understanding for low birth
weight among a bigger population.

Bibliography
Bansal, H. K. (2012). Anthropometric determinants of ow birth weight in newborns of
Hoshiarpur district (Punjab)- A hospital based study. Human Biology Review, 376-386.

Reflective Writing
I thought this article was extremely interesting and helped me to understand low birth
weight better. I thought that the experiment they performed showed great support to the
hypothesis and observations they made in the beginning. The article allowed me to think
critically by reading an article that is scholarly advanced. I had to read over this article many
times to fully grasp what they were saying through the big words. I gained substantial knowledge
through this article by gaining a better understand of what new life is like in third world
countries. Many times we are only exposed to life in the United States, and do not see outside of
that. I liked this article for that reason, since it did research outside of America. This article
allowed me to convey effectively my point in summarizing what the article was talking about.
Although it was harder for me to condense multiple pages into three to four short pages, it
allowed me to think critically.