The problem of low birthweight, the cost and possibilities of prevention

Low birthweight in electoral wards: a useful health and social indicator at local level

Greater use of electoral ward data is recommended for the guidance of allocation of resources to reduce low birthweight rates and for the monitoring of the health of communities. Ward data on low birthweight can be used for correlation studies to show the many associations of social, economic and health factors with low birthweight and with each other. A recent government report shows a substantial increase in the prevalence of disability since 1985 which is partly a consequence of an increase in low birthweight and of a deterioration in the nutritional status of an important minority of poor families who are concentrated in inner city wards.