Birthweight patterns in Harare, Zimbabwe

Few data on birthweight distributions are available for Zimbabwe. This paper reports a study of 2140 births in Harare, Zimbabwe, occurring in April 1986. Births took place in public facilities, which are estimated to serve 85% of the urban population. Mean birthweight for the entire sample is 2970 g, and for singleton livebirths 3059 g. These data suggest that the proportion of low birthweight in Harare attributable to prematurity falls between the patterns of developed and developing countries.