Title: Maternal Height as a Predictor of Birth Weight
Authors: Dr Rahul Pengoria, Dr Mohita Agarwal
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v7i2.195
Abstract
Introduction
There is enough evidence showing that the world wide problem of low birth weight (LBW), i.e. infants weighing <2500gms is one of the strongest determinants of infant mortality and morbidity. While in industrialized countries the majority of LBW infants do well owing to the advances of modern obstetric and neonatal care the chances for intact survival of LBW infants is much lower in developing countries due to inadequate or limited medical care including proper antenatal care. Maternal anthropometrics are presumed to be an important determinants of birth weight.(1) Maternal height and weight have been related to offspring weight and length at birth.(2) Previous studies have suggested that both prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain are positively associated with birth weight in the offspring and are related to risks of both low and high offspring birth weight. However further researches have shown that prepregnancy BMI reflects nutritional status, whereas weight gain during gestation reflects both nutritional status and tissue expansion.(3) the role of maternal height is not very lucid.
The present paper analyses the relationship between birth weight and maternal height to establish a relationship between maternal stature and low birth weight.
