London:
Experts at the Oxford University have planned to begin a large-scale international study to establish a new set of standards that describe the optimal, healthy growth of newborn babies and foetuses in the womb.
The study has been funded by an 8.7 million pounds grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
"Millions of pregnancies and newborns the world over will be able to be assessed using the same standardised growth charts for the first time. This will improve the detection of babies that need special attention and so potentially save lives," says Dr Jos Villar, one of the principal investigators at Oxford University.
"All countries will also have the means to identify, and concentrate resources on, the babies that need the most care."
The study will particularly benefit the developing world, where undernutrition at birth is a major health problem.
Worldwide, four million babies die each year soon after birth, and 98 per cent of the deaths are in the developing world.
The INTERGROWTH-21st study will form the largest multi-ethnic study to date on risk factors associated with premature birth and their postnatal growth. Up to 12 per cent of babies are born prematurely, and it is a major healthcare problem. Preterm delivery is becoming more common in both the developed and developing worlds.