Consensus statement on healthy mothers, healthy babies: how to prevent low birth weight

Preterm birth accounts for the majority of low birth weight babies and is the single largest cause of infant death and cerebral palsy. [...] The rate of low birth weight has been used as an index of perinatal health and for international comparisons of population health status. [...] The implications of low birth weight are profound and felt by individuals and their families both emotionally and financially; by the health care system due to increased costs and the use of scarce resources; and by society as a whole as it provides support and works to more fully integrate individuals with lifelong disabilities. [...] Provision of postpartum care and well baby care by members of the same team provides continuity of care and an opportunity to reinforce health promotion and risk reduction in the interval between pregnancies. [...] Establish animal and other biomedical models of preterm birth to better understand the epigenetic, biochemical, and molecular mechanism of normal labour, the physiopathology of preterm labour, and the mechanisms of action, as well as the potential toxicity of emerging therapies.