Note: This dataset will not be receiving updates through this portal. Please refer to the [Public Health Scotland Open Data](https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/births-in-scottish-hospitals/resource/a5d4de3f-e340-455f-b4e4-e26321d09207) platform for the relevant data. Low weight live full term singleton births (under 2500g). The 3 year aggregate shown is for financial year ending 31 March and refers to the year of discharge from hospital. Low birthweight (LBW) is a major determinant of infant mortality and morbidity. In addition, as it is associated with a variety of social and environmental factors, it is often used as a health status indicator. Low birthweight may result from being born too soon (i.e. a preterm birth), from poor intrauterine growth or from a combination of the two. A number of factors are associated with low birthweight and/or preterm births. These include maternal smoking, maternal age (older and younger mothers are more likely to have a low birthweight baby), deprivation, previous obstetric history, low pre-pregnancy maternal weight, drug/alcohol use, hypertension and multiple births. More information is available on the [ISD website](http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Maternity-and-Births/Births/).
In February 2019, we updated our methodology for allocating datazones to higher geographies to align with Government Statistical Service Geography Policy. This resulted in revisions to some aggregated figures at Electoral Ward and Scottish Parliament Constituency level.
There is generally around a 1-4% shortfall in the number of births when compared to National Records of Scotland (NRS) birth registrations, formerly General Register Office Scotland (GROS). Some of this shortfall is due to data on home births not being available from SMR02 and lower submission levels from some NHS boards.
Number, and percent, of low birthweight (less than 2500g) babies (single births).
Note that some information may have been suppressed or adjusted to preserve patient confidentiality.
Due to differences in methodology and time of data extraction, figures may differ slightly from other published work. Figures for Scotland and Health Boards may differ from the sum of lower level geographies. This is due to the presence of some data which could not be assigned to a local area, but are included in the aggregated Scotland figures.
SMR02 data are subjected to validation on submission. The figures are compared to previous years' figures and to expected trends. The SMR02 data are also occasionally assessed for accuracy by ISD's Data Quality Assurance - see latest report [Data Quality Assurance](http://www.isdscotland.org/Products-and-Services/Data-Quality)