Birthweight distribution in a healthy urban population in Surabaya-Indonesia

The birthweight distribution was assessed in an apparently healthy urban population in Surabaya, Indonesia. A total of 924 pregnant women of a middle income group were enrolled at 20-24 weeks of gestation of which 543 women delivered in the university hospital. In the latter group mean birthweight of liveborn singletons was 3047 g for males and 2900 g for females. The percentages of low birthweight by sex were 7.9% and 13.8% respectively. These values were lower than those reported for more affluent women in Indonesia and comparable with those of rural Madurese women studied in the same time period.