Proportion of babies with low birth weight grew from 4.9% in 2000 to 5.9% in 2015
Other factors include more babies born to women with serious health issues, who previously would not have been able to conceive, and smoking.
Prof Higgins said most babies who were marginally low weight did very well, unless they had other problems, and the bigger concern was very low weight babies, around 1kg. Higher rates of Caesarean sections were not a causal factor, he added, though women with smaller babies were at greater risk of requiring one.
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