WEIGHING BABIES-
WHAT PURPOSE DOES IT SERVE?
The periodic weighing of babies has become a standard feature of many
health programs. But the purpose it actually serves differs greatly from
program to program. Instructors and health workers would do well to ask
themselves questions like the following:
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• What is the real reason that most
health workers weigh babies?
• What effect, if any, does this have on
the children’s health?
• How could the program be improved?
• By whom?
At best, baby weighing serves a valuable purpose. It helps health workers and
mothers to discover problems in children’s growth and correct them before they
become too severe. So baby weighing helps to protect and improve children’s
health.
But in many health programs we have visited, there is little evidence that baby
weighing has any real effect on children’s health. The purposes it serves may be
quite different.
• In some programs, baby weighing has become a mysterious ritual. Or it is
done only to fulfill a requirement or impress the supervisors. Little use is made
of the weights that are so religiously (and often inaccurately) recorded.
• In other programs, the main purpose of baby weighing seems to be to provide
statistics for the health authorities. If babies are only weighed once every 3
or 4 months, statistics are generally the only purpose served. To be of much
benefit to the mothers and children, weighing needs to be done more often.
About once a month is best.
• In some programs, the chief purpose of the baby-weighing ceremony seems
to be social. It gives mothers a chance to come together and talk. (This can
be a valuable function of a baby-weighing program, but should not be its only
purpose.)
Weighing babies can serve many purposes. But its main goal should be to help
meet the health needs of the children. On the next page is an outline of appropriate
reasons for weighing babies and how health workers can help achieve the goals
they set.