Increasing Trend of Low Birth Weight in Rural Areas of Iran: a Warning

Despite significant improving trend in most of health indicators in rural areas of Iran[2, 3], there is a slow increase in LBW among newborns. Based on official data extracted form vital statistics of rural areas in Iran, LBW was 2.9% in 1994 with coverage of 83.9% in newborns; In 2004, LBW was 4.7% (coverage: 96.2%) and in 2009, it was 5.1% with a complete (100%) coverage of rural newborns (Fig. 1). This increasing trend of LBW is statistically significant (P-value for trend: 0.0001). LBW is a reliable indicator in assessment and monitoring the maternal and child health program and finding a rational reason for this increasing trend is important[4].