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Determination of Low Birth Weight using Mid Upper Arm Circumference and Chest Circumference

Introduction: Birth weight is a sensitive and reliable predictor of health in newborn babies. Determining the birth weight is extremely important because it can help in identifying babies who need emergency or special care after birth. According to WHO, a birth weight of <2.5kg is considered low birth weight for babies. But it is not always possible to measure the weight after birth, as, in many developing countries including ours, most childbirths happen at home, by the hands of traditional birth attendants, who don’t always have weighing scales with them. Also, in many health care centers, babies are not regularly weighed because of the lack of weighing scales. Because of this, anthropometric measurements are used to determine the LBW babies with very few tools that can be found almost everywhere. The present study was conducted to see different types of anthropometric measurements and their use in determining birth weight. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to determine substitute methods for recognizing low birth weight babies where weighing scales are not readily available. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Dhaka Shishu Hospital during the period of July 2013 to December 2013 with a sample size of 306. Anthropometric measurements including weight, mid-upper arm circumference, and chest circumference were taken within 24 hours of life. The correlation coefficient was used to assess the association between birth weight and other anthropometric measurements. ROC was used. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: This study was conducted with 306 neonates aged within 24 hours. The male-female ratio was 1.73:1. 56.9% of the neonates were aged between 7-12 hours. A total of 126 were preterm, and 180 were term neonates. Total low birth weight neonates were 48.4% and mean birth weight was 2.405±0.613 kg. Mid-upper arm circumference (r=0.936) and Chest circumference (r=0.922) had a significant correlation .......