Use of a simple anthropometric measurement to predict birth weight. WHO Collaborative Study of Birth Weight Surrogates.

Low-birth-weight babies are most at risk of infant mortality. Unfortunately, in many developing countries it is not possible to weigh babies accurately because of the lack of robust scales. This article describes the results of a WHO Collaborative Study to investigate whether birth weight can be predicted accurately using chest circumference and/or arm circumference. The implications of the results for paediatric practice in developing countries are discussed.