Low birthweight: will new estimates accelerate progress?

Birthweight is an important gauge of maternal and fetal health as well as an important determinant of perinatal, neonatal, and postneonatal outcomes. Approximately 80% of newborns who die every year are low birthweight (LBW), under 2500 g, because they were either born preterm or small for gestational age or both.1,2 LBW newborns who survive have a greater risk of both short-term and long-term adverse health consequences.