Scotland
Low birthweight babies
Key points
- At 7% of live births, the proportion of babies born with a low birthweight is similar to a decade ago.
- Babies born of parents who live in areas of high deprivation are much more likely to be of low birthweight compared to babies born of parents who live in areas of low deprivation: 9% compared to 5%.
- The authorities with the highest proportion of babies of low birthweight are West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow.
- The proportion of babies who are of low birthweight in Scotland is similar to the UK average.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: By population group
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Graph 3: By LA
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Map
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Graph 4: Compared to UK
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Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the proportion of live births who are defined as having a low birth weight, i.e. less than 2.5 kilograms (5.5lbs). The data is shown separately for full-term and premature babies.
The data is for all live births, both premature and full-term and for singleton and multiple births. It excludes still-births, home births and births at non-NHS hospitals.
The graph was chosen since low birthweight babies face a range of future health problems both immediate and longer-term: poor health in the first four weeks of life, a higher risk of death before the age of two and delayed physical and intellectual development in early childhood and adolescence among them.
The second graph shows, for the latest year, the proportion of low birthweight babies according to the deprivation category of their parents' area of residence. The deprivation categories are based on data collected in the 1981 and 1991 censuses. A number of measures (over-crowding, male unemployment, low social class, no car) are combined to give a composite score for postcode sectors. There are five categories ranging from 1 (least deprived) to 5 (most deprived). The data is for live births only and omits those cases where the deprivation category was not known.
The graph was chosen because the socio-economic pattern to the risk of low birthweight babies, indicates the way in which the historical disadvantage of children's parents can be transmitted from the very outset.
The third graph and map show how the proportion of live births that are of a low birthweight varies by local authority. To improve statistical reliability, the data is the average for the three years 2005.
The data source for the first three graphs and map is ISD Scotland. ISD states that the deprivation analysis is based on Carstairs 1991 deprivation quintiles.
The fourth graph shows how the proportion of babies who are of low birthweight in Scotland compares with the rest of the UK.
The data source for the fourth graph is the ONS publication Key population and vital statistics. Note that the data for Scotland is for 2005 whilst that for all the other regions of the UK is for 2006.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. The data is sourced from administrative data and represents a count of births. Adequacy for the second graph can be regarded as medium: relative levels of deprivation in areas can change over time and the measure used may not adequately reflect such changes; the graph measures area deprivation, not deprivation of the parents themselves; and not everyone living in an area identified as deprived is necessarily deprived themselves and vice versa.