Low Birth Weight Babies and Disability

By and Medicine National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Health and Medicine Division, Board on Health Care Services, Committee on the Identification and Prognosis of Low Birth Weight Babies in Disability Determinations, Austen Applegate, Carol Mason Spicer, Walter Frontera Approximately 3.6 million live births occur every year in the United States. Between 8 and 9 percent of infants are born with low birth weight (LBW), defined by the medical community as less than 2,500 grams or 5.5 pounds at birth. While most infants born with LBW are not impacted by severe developmental disabilities or major or multiple health conditions, research indicates that these infants often do experience elevated rates of mild to moderate chronic health conditions that have meaningful functional impacts throughout an individuals life course. The Social Security Administration (SSA) asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene an expert committee to provide an overview of the current status of the identification, treatment, and prognosis of LBW babies, including trends in survivability, in the U.S. population under age 1 year. SSA also asked the committee to provide information on the short- and long-term functional outcomes associated with and the most common conditions related to LBW, available treatments and services, and other considerations. The resulting report, Low Birth Weight Babies and Disability, presents the committees conclusions. Product Details Publisher ‏ : ‎ National Academies Press (March 21, 2024) Language ‏ : ‎ English Paperback ‏ : ‎ 246 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0309712874 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0309712873