A troubling rise in the underweight newborns has been reported across multiple districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sparking concern among health officials and medical experts. According to fresh data released by the provincial health department, several areas have recorded alarmingly high percentages of low birth weight (LBW) cases, with Upper Kohistan emerging as the most affected.
In Upper Kohistan, 98 out of 718 newborns were found to have low birth weight — a staggering 13.65%. Similarly, Kolai Palas recorded 34 such births out of 376, marking a 9.04% rate. Upper Chitral followed with a 6.27% LBW rate, with 76 out of 1,212 births reported below the normal weight threshold.
By comparison, more developed districts such as Haripur, Peshawar, Swat, and Mardan reported significantly lower percentages. Haripur recorded 2.79%, Peshawar 0.85%, Swat 0.55%, and Mardan just 0.13%, the lowest in the province. In total, 820 out of 76,972 reported births across these districts were classified as low birth weight, resulting in an overall LBW rate of 1.06%.
Health experts attribute the high incidence of LBW to multiple factors. Chief among them are maternal malnutrition during pregnancy, lack of regular medical check-ups, anemia, high blood pressure, diabetes, early-age pregnancies, and mental stress during gestation.
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Socioeconomic factors also play a critical role. Poverty, lack of access to quality healthcare in remote areas, and limited public awareness compound the issue. "When expecting mothers don’t receive balanced nutrition or antenatal care, the child’s development suffers, often leading to low birth weight," said a senior gynaecologist in Peshawar.
Experts are urging immediate intervention to reverse the trend. Key recommendations include:
Ensuring pregnant women have access to nutritious food.
Making antenatal check-ups mandatory from early pregnancy stages.
Expanding quality healthcare services to rural and underserved regions.
Strict enforcement against early marriages, which often result in high-risk pregnancies due to immature maternal bodies and poor nutritional status.
Health professionals stress that low birth weight is not only a neonatal concern but also a long-term health issue, as affected children are more vulnerable to developmental delays, infections, and chronic diseases.
The provincial health department is now pressured to implement targeted maternal health programs, particularly in high-incidence districts, to safeguard future generations.
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