National Journal of Community Medicine│Volume 8│Issue 10│Oct 2017 Page 616 ORIGINAL ARTICLE pISSN 0976 3325│eISSN 2229 6816 Open Access Article www.njcmindia.org Pattern and Determinants of Birth Weight in a Rural Population of Punjab, India Mahesh Satija 1 , Vikram Kumar Gupta 1 , Anurag Chaudhary 2 , Sarit Sharma 3 , Sangeeta Girdhar 3 , Surinderpal Singh 4 Financial Support: None declared Conflict of Interest: None declared Copy Right: The Journal retains the copyrights of this article. However, re- production of this article in the part or total in any form is permissible with due acknowledgement of the source. How to cite this article: Satija M, Gupta VK, Chaudhary A, Sharma S, Girdhar S, Singh S. Pattern and Determinants of Birth Weight in a Rural Population of Punjab, India. Natl J Community Med 2017; 8(10):616-621. Author’s Affiliation: 1 Associate Professor; 2 Professor& Head; 3 Professor; 4 Assistant Professor, Community Medicine, Dayanand Med- ical College & Hospital, Ludhiana Correspondence Dr. Vikram Kumar Gupta drvikramgupta1983@gmail.com Date of Submission: 24-09-17 Date of Acceptance: 29-10-17 Date of Publication: 31-10-17 ABSTRACT Introduction: Birth weight is a strong predictor for ensuring healthy life of a newborn and is affected by various maternal and social determinants. The study was planned to analyze the pattern of birth weight of newborns and to identify possible factors affect- ing birth weight. Materials and Methods: A community based retrospective cohort study was conducted by identifying a birth cohort of 332 live born between 1 st January 2014 to 31 st December, 2014 under Rural Health Training Centre, Department of Community Medicine, Dayanand Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab. Data on birth weight and socio-demographic characteristics was collected from the records maintained at the centre by health workers through regular house to house visits. Results: Mean birth weight was 2.69±0.57kg. Lower mean birth weight was significantly associated with younger maternal age, lower socio-economic status, lower maternal height and pre- pregnancy underweight mothers. The incidence of low birth weight (<2.5 kg) was 18.1%. Among all live births, 23.8% were de- livered prior to 37 weeks of gestation (preterm). Multiple regres- sion analysis identified younger maternal age, low maternal height and underweight mothers as significant determinants associated with lower mean birth weight. Conclusion: The study identifies certain determinants for lower birth weight for which appropriate interventions need to be planned to ensure a healthy ageing. Keywords: Mean birth weight, low birth weight, determinants, India INTRODUCTION Birth weight (BW) is the most important predictor of healthy life of a new born. Neonatal and infant survival is largely dependent on BW in resource poor countries. Birth weight is also one variable that is easiest to record and interpret statistically. The smaller the baby, the more crucial it becomes to monitor his or her growth after birth 1. Low birth weight (LBW) continues to be a major public health problem worldwide especially in low and middle income countries 2,3 . In 2013, an estimated 16 per cent of all babies born globally had low birth weight. Among regions, South Asia has the highest incidence of LBW, with one in four newborns weighing less than 2,500 grams 3 . India alone ac- counts for one third of the global burden and more than one-fifth of children had LBW 4 . India is also among five countries where incidence of LBW ex- ceeds 20 percent 5 . The World Health Assembly has set a new target to reduce LBW by 30 per cent be- tween 2010 and 2025 6 . Factors associated with BW relate to socio- demographic and prenatal conditions in mother 2 . Birth weight is affected to a great extent by mater-