Maharashtra: Over 2 lakh babies born with low birth weight in 2018-19

Over two lakh infants were born with low birth weight in Maharashtra, of which 22,179 were born in Mumbai, the government informed the legislative Assembly on Friday. According to the World Health Organization, babies that weigh less than 2.5 kg at birth fall under the low birth weight category, one of the primary causes of infant deaths.

Quoting a report by Health Management Information System, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said as many as 2,11,772 babies weighing less than 1.5 kg were born in 2018-19, of which 22,179 were born in Mumbai. As per the HMIS report, 13,070 babies died in infancy, of these 1,402 deaths were reported in Mumbai, the minister said in his written reply.

Between April 1 and December 31 2019, 12,147 infant deaths were reported in the state, while 11,066 newborns died in the period, he said. Similarly, 1,070 cases of maternal mortality were reported in the state from April 1, 2019 to January 15 this year, he added.