Low birth weight refers to babies weighing less than 8 ounces. Low weight in babies can cause serious health problems. While some newborns weighing below 5 pounds are born healthy, others might need treatment to address the problems that might occur because of their weight. There can be many causes of the low birth weight of a child, the common one being premature delivery. For the baby to be born healthy, it must be born after 37 weeks of pregnancy. If the mother delivers the child before this period, there is a good chance the baby will weigh less than the normal weight of a healthy newborn. This happens because the fetus does not get enough time in the mother?s womb to develop properly. And, the fetus gains weight in the latter stages of the pregnancy. Let?s take a look at a few other factors that can lead to low birth weight issues in babies.