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Birth weight of German babies about 500 grams higher than the Indian newborn
A new study has shown that babies born in Germany are on average 500 grams heavier at birth than Indian newborns. A lower birth weight is associated with numerous health risks.
Health risks due to low birth weight
A few years ago, one study found that around one million babies worldwide die the day of their birth. Premature births are one of the most common causes of death for children, not least because the little ones weigh very little when they are born. A low birth weight carries a great health risk. A new study has now shown that the weight of newborns in the individual countries varies greatly.
The birth weight of babies varies enormously from country to country. For example, newborns in Germany are on average 500 grams heavier than those in India. (Image: Maria Sbytova / fotolia.com) Study with researchers from ten countries
How severe a baby is at birth varies from country to country and is determined by several other factors, such as the child's maternal age and gender. This was the result of a multinational study by the World Health Organization (WHO) with the significant involvement of scientists from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE).
As the Hamburg hospital reports in a communication, children in central and northern Europe are significantly more severe at birth than in India or the Congo, even though they are low-risk pregnancies and women live in a comparable socio-economic environment.
The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, included 1,387 healthy women with low-risk pregnancies.
Researchers from Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Norway and Thailand participated in the study.
Germany in second place
The Clinic for Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine of the UKE under the direction of Prof. Dr. med. Kurt Hecher was the study center for Germany. "139 Hamburg women were included in the study. The children born by them weighed on average 3480 grams, "explained Prof. Hecher.
Germany ranked second in international comparison. Thus, Norwegian mothers gave birth to the heaviest babies with an average of 3575 grams, and the lightest babies with 2975 grams of Indian.
According to the information, the differences are not due to the respective socio-economic conditions, all expectant mothers lived in a comparably good environment.
Determination of the probable birth weight in pregnancy care
As stated in the UKE communication, determining the likely birth weight in antenatal care plays a significant role.
"An estimate of fetal weight is important because low birth weight is associated with higher birth-rate mortality, more common childhood illness, and longer-term health risks as an adult," Dr. Anke Diemert, Senior Physician at the UKE Maternity Hospital.
In low-risk pregnancies, ultrasound examinations are usually performed on the 12th, 22nd and 32nd week of gestation.
Consistent growth
Based on these measurements, the scientists were now able to determine fetal growth diagrams for the head and waist circumference, the length of the femur and the birth weight.
"What matters most about pregnancy is that growth is steady, and that the fetus is roughly in the same area of the growth curve at any time during pregnancy," Dr. Diemert.
As the experts write, birth weight estimates are widely used in ultrasound measurements and an important tool in identifying and managing high-risk pregnancies.
"However, many countries use fetal growth curves based on a single high-income country population," said Prof. Hecher.
Effects on medical prenatal care
"However, the present study identified significant differences between countries and regions. This will have a significant impact on medical prenatal care worldwide, "said the doctor.
According to the figures, the sometimes significant differences in the average birth weight in India (2975 g), Egypt (3100 g), Thailand (3130 g) and Congo (3170 g) compared with France (3370), Denmark (3462 g) , Germany (3480 g) and Norway (3575 g), in particular due to maternal factors such as age, weight and number of births as well as the sex of the newborn.
"These new data suggest that the identification of high-risk pregnancies worldwide can be improved if these factors are taken into account," said Prof. Hecher.
Based on these findings, the WHO has developed new fetal growth curves, which in particular also take regional differences into account.
Interesting in this context are also new findings that scientists presented a few months ago in the journal "BMC Medicine". Thus, a urine test in mothers can lead to the identification of the future birth weight. (Ad)