newborn average weight
Birth weight is the body weight of a baby at its birth. The average birth weight in babies of European heritage is 3.5 kilograms (7.7 lb), though the range of normal is between 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lb) and 5 kilograms (11 lb) (all but 5% of newborns will fall into this range). Babies of south Asian and Chinese heritage weigh about 240 grams (0.53 lb) less.
The optimal size for a newborn is around 4,000 grams, or roughly 8.8 pounds, according to Dr. Kramer. The average baby in the study was found to be smaller than optimal. In 1990, the average birth weight was 3,441 grams, and in 2005 it fell to 3,389 grams, according to the study.