Validation and use of a simple device to identify low birth weight babies at birth.

In many rural areas of this country, a considerable number of deliveries take place at home unattended or attended to by traditional birth attendants, and majority of the babies are not weighed at birth. This study was carried out to find a simple way in which high risk, low birth weight babies (Birth weight < 2500 g) can be identified at birth and cared for in order to reduce infant mortality and also to improve documentation of such deliveries at the grassroots level. A birth study of 1625 hospital births showed a strong correlation between mid thigh circumference and birth weight (r = 0.68, t = 4.8, p < 0.000). A mid-thigh circumference of 13.9 cm and less was reliable in identifying newborn babies with a birth weight less than 2500 g with a sensitivity of 93.3%, a specificity of 83.0%, a positive predictive value of 42.4% and a negative predictive value of 98.9%. A flexible, non-stretch plastic strip was designed for use to identify babies with low birth weight. The strip is acceptable to mothers, it requires no measurements and is presently being used successfully by traditional birth attendants and village health workers in a village in Nigeria. The identified babies are seen regularly in the village clinic.