Low birth weight and socioeconomic characteristics

Researchers have found that low birthweight is influenced by several socioeconomic factors, in particular the mother’s education level.

Women with the lowest academic qualifications have the greatest risk of giving birth to a low-weight infant (below 2.5 kg). More specifically, this risk is 50% higher for women with no qualifications than for women with a high-school diploma. This gap narrows slightly when household income is taken into account, as well as factors such as the child’s birth order, the mother’s age and the parents’ height, but does not close altogether.

Tobacco and alcohol use during pregnancy also seems to play a role, partly explaining the higher frequency of low birthweight among the offspring of the least academically qualified mothers. France and the United Kingdom have comparable socioeconomic variations in the risk of low birthweight.

Low birth weight in babies: socioeconomic factors [FR] - Presentation by Lidia Panico, researcher at INED

More information