THE share of infants born with low birth weight in the Philippines climbed to 18.6% during the 2023-2025 period, according to preliminary results of the Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA) National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) reported on Thursday.

The proportion of infants with reported low birth weight increased from 15.4% in 2022, marking the highest level since the 20.7% recorded in 2008.

The PSA defines low birth weight as less than 2.5 kilograms, the most widely used indicator of poor fetal growth and maternal nutritional health during pregnancy. As such, the national reading serves as a barometer of conditions surrounding pregnancy, and shifts in it are among the measures policymakers track between survey rounds when assessing maternal and child health.

Regional variation was pronounced. The highest rates were recorded in the Zamboanga Peninsula (23.8%), Eastern Visayas (22.5%), and Central Visayas (22.1%), while the lowest figures were posted in the Cagayan Valley (12%), the Bicol Region (12.1%), and Soccsksargen (14.8%). That is a spread of nearly 12 percentage points between the highest- and lowest-ranking regions.

Low birth weight was most common among infants born to mothers aged 20 years old and below, at 24.5%, compared with 22.2% among mothers aged 35 to 49 and 16.8% among those aged 20 to 24.

The rate was also higher in urban areas, at 19.6%, than in rural areas at 17.5%.

By educational attainment, incidence was highest among infants born to mothers with primary-level educational attainment (28.1%) and lowest among those whose mothers had college-level attainment (14.8%).

Across wealth groups, the incidence peaked in the middle quintile (22.3%) and was lowest in the richest quintile (13.3%).

The survey also found a higher prevalence among infants born to mothers who smoked cigarettes or tobacco (29.1%), compared with those whose mothers did not smoke (17.9%).

Separately, the percentage of married women aged 15 to 49 years old who are able to make informed decisions on sexual relations, contraceptive use, and reproductive health inched up to 82.9% from 82.3% in 2022.

By region, the share of women exercising informed decision-making was highest in Central Visayas (88%), followed by Calabarzon (87.1%) and Central Luzon (86.9%). It was lowest in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (54.6%), the Zamboanga Peninsula (68.4%), and the Negros Island Region (74%). Both sets of figures come from the same preliminary round, giving program planners a region-by-region view of where maternal and reproductive health indicators stand alongside each other.

The NDHS is conducted every three years and provides data to guide policies and programs aimed at the health and development of Filipinos. With Thursday's figures labeled preliminary, the finalized results and the next survey round will provide the subsequent readings for both indicators.

— Aliyah Naomi Ngking