Abstract
The present study was undertaken at the Neonatal Unit, Department of Pediatrics, S.N. Medical College, Agra; from September 2005 to August 2007 to find out foot length measurement as an effective screening tool in the identification of low birth weight babies. Foot-length measurement is a cheap, easy to use, less prone to errors with no requirement of a technical aid or expertise and there is no necessity for any form of equipment or facility. The incidence of LBW babies was 45.82% with 65.9% Term SGA and 34.1% pre-term babies. Mean values for crown heel length, occipito-frontal circumference, chest circumference, mid-arm circumference and foot length were cm, and respectively.
 
 Key Words: LBW babies, Crown heel length, Neonatal and pre-term babies.
Highlights
LBW is the single most important factor determining the survival chances of the child
September 2005 to August 2007 to find out foot length measurement as an effective screening tool in the identification of low birth weight babies
The newborns were taken from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Department of Pediatric and those present in the post-natal and post-operative ward of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, S.N
Summary
LBW is the single most important factor determining the survival chances of the child. A high percentage of LBW points to deficient health status of pregnant woman, inadequate prenantal care and the need for improved care of newborn.[4]. The Neo-natal mortally rate (NMR) of 43 per 1000 live births in India is exceeding high when compared to < 5 in developed countries. At least 17 million infants are born every year with low birth weight, representing about 16% of all newborns in developing countries. 80% of all intrauterine growth retarded newborns who are low birth weight and full term are born in Asia[5] (mainly south-central Asia, with Bangladesh having the highest rate in the world (50%). Incident rates of > 15% for low birth weight[6] and > 20% for intrauterine growth retardation indicate a major public health problem
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