| Abstract: | Measurement within 24 hours and then daily for 10 days after birth was made of mid arm, calf, and thigh circumference, and birth weight among infants delivered by the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana, Punjab State, India. The results of the correlation procedures was that mid arm an calf circumference were highly correlated with birth weights: r = .60 and r = .76 respectively. Thigh circumference data was discarded, due to technical errors. Analysis of variance found that there were not significant differences between the values of arm and calf circumference and birth weight. This information was found useful for determining birth weight with colored strips during the first 10 days after birth. The criteria of health workers in field conditions to assess birth weight with surrogate measures were satisfied: high correlation, easy measurement, and consistently accuracy over the first few days of life. Health workers do not always see new borns in the first few days. The significance of measuring birth weight is in the determination of low birth weight and the need for special care or monitoring as a means of enhancing child survival. |
