Birth weight is the weight of a newborn baby, measured immediately at the time of its birth. Low birth weight risks include poor growth of the child, leading to both physical and psychiatric problems. Read on to know low birth weight causes, effects, and complications...

Babies born before completing 37 weeks of pregnancy are called 'premature babies'. They are born with lower than normal birth weight. Babies born around the full term may sometimes have low weight issues. Multiple birth pregnancy (twins or triplets) can lead to lower than normal birth weight for the babies. Here, in this article, we are going to consider singleton pregnancy and low weight babies born at the full term. According to WHO, babies born with a weight less than 2500 g (5 pounds, 8 ounces) are referred to as low birth weight (LBW) babies. Birth weight less than 1500 g is described as 'very low birth weight' (VLBW), and birth weight less than 1000 g is recognized as 'extremely low birth weight' (ELBW). 2500 g - 4200 g is considered as the normal weight for a newborn baby, for a full term delivery. Why some babies have low weight at the time of birth is explained below.