Birth weight is that the weight of a baby at its birth. the typical birth weight in babies of European heritage is 3.5 kilograms (7.7 lb), though the range of normal is between 2.5 and 4.5 kilograms (5.5 and 9.9 lb). Babies of south Asian and Chinese heritage weigh about 240 grams (8.5 oz) less. The birth weight of a baby is notable because very low birth weight babies are 100 times more likely to die compared to normal birth weight babies. As far as low birth weights prevalence rates changing over time, there has been a small decrease from 7.9% (1970) to six .8% (1980), then a small increase to eight .3% (2006), to current levels of 8.2% (2016). The prevalence of low birth weight has trended slightly upward from 2012 to present day.