BIRTH WEIGHTS IN DJENNE, A RURAL TOWN IN MALI (W AFRICA)

Some data (sex, birth order, month of birth, birth weight) on 1,106 African babies born alive during the years 1976, 1977 and 1978 were collected from the birth registers of the 'Maternite' at Djenne. The material was analysed in terms of structure of the sample (sex ratio; distribution of parities), and birth weight correlates (sex, parity, seasonal variation, incidence of low birth weight). The use of even simple birth registers from developing countries is advocated in order to define appropriate public health measures.