Abstract
Abstract Background Growth potential is influenced by race, ethnicity, and environmental factors and assessment of growth using standardized charts is important for quality improvement initiatives in health care delivery and public health interventions of any nation. Objective This article aims to develop regional gestational age and gender-specific reference for birth weight and to compare it with published literature. Methodology This study was conducted in a teaching hospital in Puducherry, India and included 2,507 singleton babies. Babies with major congenital anomalies, maternal chronic illness, and nonavailability of first trimester dating scan were excluded. Detailed anthropometric measurement was done for these babies by single investigator as per established norms, their gestation- and sex-specific mean weight and weight percentiles were calculated and compared with existing data. Results Both 10th and 90th percentiles were lower across all gestational ages compared with existing international standards. The proportion of late preterm and term small for gestational age (SGA) babies was 23% using Fenton-2013 reference chart, 14% using Intergrowth-21 chart, and 10% using the current study data (p < 0.0001). The proportion of large for gestational age (LGA) babies was 8.5%, using study data. Mean birth weight of male and female term babies born to primiparae were significantly higher compared with multiparae (p = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). Conclusion Indian babies may be overdiagnosed as SGA or underdiagnosed as LGA based on existing western standards in which our patient population is underrepresented. There is a need for gestational age-, gender-, and parity-specific regional growth charts for better characterization of anthropometric measures of Indian babies.
Highlights
Newborn anthropometry by gestational age and sex have been studied by several authors throughout the world starting from Lubchenco et al in 1963, who were the first to introduce the intrauterine weight-based growth chart for various gestational age from the viable period
The prevalence of low birth weight (LBW) babies corresponds to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 data[5] of Pondicherry (15%) but lower compared with the NFHS-4 national data
The prevalence of term small for gestational age (SGA) babies (24.4%) in our study is less compared with the national statistics as per the United Nations–Millennium Development Goals regional data, 2010 and the proportion of preterm babies are less (6%) compared with national statistics as per global, regional, and national estimates (13.6%), 2014.6,7
Summary
Newborn anthropometry by gestational age and sex have been studied by several authors throughout the world starting from Lubchenco et al in 1963, who were the first to introduce the intrauterine weight-based growth chart for various gestational age from the viable period. Available estimates for the prevalence and mortality of small-for-gestational-age babies show that these assessments are a major focus for quality improvement initiatives in health care delivery and public health interventions of any nation. The objective of this study is to develop a regional gestation and gender-specific reference chart for birth weight of newborn babies. The secondary objective was to determine the proportion of low birth weight (LBW) babies and to study the factors associated with LBW. Growth potential is influenced by race, ethnicity, and environmental factors and assessment of growth using standardized charts is important for quality improvement initiatives in health care delivery and public health interventions of any nation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
