Inequalities and low birthweight - an Irish problem
The Working Group on the National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS) and Health has included low birthweight as one of three core targets to reduce health inequalities in Ireland. This target states that the gap in low birthweight rates between children from the lowest and the highest socio-economic groups should be reduced by 10% from the 2001 level, by 2007.
This report found that babies born to parents who are unemployed were at over twice the risk of being low birthweight in 1999, when compared to those born to parents recorded as higher professionals. Teenage and unmarried mothers also had a significantly increased risk of having a low birthweight baby in that year
