5 The main things that cause thin babies & bull; hello healthy

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), underweight babies are a condition in which babies are born with low birth weight (less than 2500 grams). A study reveals that more than 20 million babies worldwide are born underweight, and the number of underweight babies in Indonesia is still high. Broadly speaking, the cause of a thin baby is caused by 2 factors, namely the mother's factor and the fetus's factor.

Various possible causes of thin babies

Several conditions of the mother can cause a thin baby, such as:

1. Age at pregnancy

The mother's age at pregnancy will be able to describe the readiness of her reproductive system to bear additional burdens in her body (the weight of the fetus). When viewed from a psychological perspective as well, a pregnant woman who is of sufficient age (more than the same as 20 years and less than 35 years), will pay more attention to the care she has to take in order to give birth to a healthy baby.

2. Gestational age at delivery (premature)

Reporting from the Nutrition Policy Paper, gestational age less than 37 weeks increases the potential for causes of thin babies. This is because the shorter the gestational age of a mother is, the shorter the growth period for the fetus will be in the womb. This then causes the fetus to grow less than perfect.

3. Maternal nutritional status

A study in West Java revealed that pregnant women with an upper arm circumference (often used as an indicator of a person's nutrition) of less than 23.5 cm have a 2 times greater risk of giving birth to thin babies, compared to pregnant women whose upper arm circumference is more than 23.5. cm (normal limit).

This also applies to mothers before pregnancy. Another study revealed that mothers with an upper arm circumference that was less than the normal limit before becoming pregnant were four times more likely to give birth to a thin baby. This means that the mother's nutritional status can be the cause of a thin baby.

4. Mother's education level

Although it has an indirect effect, often the higher the level of education of a prospective mother, the more information she will get to prepare for her pregnancy so that one day she will give birth to a healthy baby.

5. The gender of the baby

Apart from the mother, the factor of the baby or the fetus itself can also make the baby thin. A study in Sri Lanka revealed that male babies weigh 58 grams heavier than female babies. Several times this began to appear at 24 weeks of gestation.

What are the health risks of a thin baby?

Birth weight is an important phase for a baby. This phase is a determining factor for the next growth of the baby. Indirectly, the condition of the baby at birth will have the following impacts:

Thin babies will have a risk of growing and developing slower than babies born with normal weight. In addition to growth and development disorders, a person with a history of underweight babies will have a high risk factor for hypertension, heart disease and diabetes after reaching the age of 40.
Thin babies have low immunity, so they are prone to infection and have a 17 times higher risk of dying than normal babies to die before the age of 1 year.
The intelligence level of thin babies will be lower due to interference with brain growth and development since in the womb.

What can be done if the mother is likely to be the cause of the thin baby?

In order to avoid risks to pregnancy and childbirth, as well as causes of underweight babies, mothers are required to have antenatal visits (antenatal care). This visit needs to be carried out in a complete and quality manner at least 4 times, as well as having checked with the doctor at least once, to detect the presence or absence of other medical abnormalities.

Of course, these things also apply to mothers who have the potential to give birth to thin babies. These visits consisted of: