Changes in mean birth weight and proportion of low-weight births in Hungary.

The high incidence of low-weight births (not exceeding 2,500g.) is a serious public health problem in Hungary where the deaths of low birth weight babies accounted for 68-4% of the infant mortality and 83-0% of the first week mortality in 1967. The proportion of low-weight births is probably higher in Hungary than in any other European country and appears to be increasing (Table I). The work presented here is an attempt to investigate the reasons for this. It is based on an examination of data recorded in Hungary between 1950 and 1967. The basic data are presented in Table II. Mean birth weight decreased linearly from 1950 to 1962 and has remained unchanged since (Fig. 1). The proportion of low birth weights increased steadily until 1962.The rate of increase has since slowed down (Fig. 2). Changes in the birth rate were the results ofseveral opposing effects (Fig. 3). The post-war increase in birth rate was followed by a decrease in 1951-52. This fall was halted by the 1953 family protection law and by the provision of more stringent penalties for criminal abortion, and a significant increase in the number of live births occurred. Following the 1956 measures that made the legal interruption of undesired pregnancies at hospitals possible, the birth rate continued to decrease and reached its lowest level (12-9 per 1,000) in 1962. A slight in-