Alberta may be the richest province but it is also where the most underweight (less than 5.5 pounds) babies were born between 2008 and 2009.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the rate of underweight babies in Alberta was 6.7%. The Canadian average is 6%.
Babies who are born underweight can have developmental delays and physical problems. They can also develop serious health problems later on, probably because they did not completely develop in the womb. Moreover, they often spend much more time in hospital.
The rate of underweight baby births varies from one province to another. This represents 4.9% of births on Prince Edward Island, 5.1% in Manitoba and 6.4% in Ontario.
The new study also shows that there are more and more births taking place in hospital, an increase of 4.8% from 2006-2007.