Adjustment of birth weight standards for maternal and infant characteristics improves the prediction of outcome in the small-for-gestational-age infant

https://doi.org/10.1053/ob.1996.v175.a73600Get rights and content
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Birth weight is a function of gestational age. Various maternal and infant characteristics also affect birth weight. This study sought to adjust for these factors to better define abnormal growth. STUDY DESIGN: Maternal and infant characteristics from normal pregnancies were correlated with birth weight. A formula was developed and applied to a second group in which we compared perinatal outcomes in normally grown infants with those who were small for gestational age. We compared outcomes between small-for-gestational-age infants defined by the formula with those defined by conventional tables. RESULTS: Infants defined by the formula as small-for-gestational-age were more likely to have morbidity and mortality than those who were normally grown ( p < 0.001). Small-for-gestational-age infants defined by the formula had more deaths and adverse outcomes than those defined by gestational age. CONCLUSION: Adjusting birth weight standards for maternal and infant characteristics may improve the prediction of adverse outcomes. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1996;175:544-7.)

Keywords

Intrauterine growth restriction
birth weight
maternal height
maternal weight
perinatal morbidity

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From the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine,a and the Division of Statistics, Department of Mathematics, University of Delaware.b