Low birth weight and autism
JASHIM SALAM / DRIKNEWS
A study conducted by the US researchers reveals that babies born weighing less than 1.8kg could be more prone to developing autism than children born with normal weight. It is a very bad news for us because the number of underweight children in Bangladesh is very high. I have learnt from a report published in this paper that Bangladesh's progress in reducing prevalence of underweight children has become static at about 40 percent since 2000. Doctors say that low birth weight brings many complications to the babies. We know that maternal malnutrition is the main cause of low birth weight of the baby and that malnutrition develops due to lack of diversified and animal protein-riched food intake. However, I urge the government to take necessary steps, keeping harmony with the international organizations, who work for improving this situation, to ensure staple and nutritious foods at least for the expectant mothers.
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