Maternal short stature: A risk factor for low birth weight in neonates

Journal Title: Journal of Medical and Allied Sciences - Year 2012, Vol 2, Issue 2

Abstract

Low birth weight (LBW) is the most common cause of perinatal mortality, causing almost 30 percent of neonatal deaths. On the other hand, maternal short stature is known to cause a lot of obstetric complications like cephalo-pelvic disproportion and arrest of labor, intrauterine asphyxia, intrauterine growth retardation. The objective of our study was to find out whether there was any significant statistical association between maternal height and the birth weight of the neonate. We identified a group of low birth weight neonates (n=54) and a control group (n=51) of normal weight neonates at term in Mediciti Hospital over a period of 1 year and retrospectively looked the maternal heights for both groups. Inclusion criteria being mothers who delivered at term, mothers who had a hemoglobin level more than 10 gm/dl, mothers with relatively uneventful antenatal without any significant obstetric or medical complications during the pregnancy, and neonates with relatively uneventful post-natal periods without any significant pediatric or medical complications. The odds of having been born of a mother of short stature are more than three times greater for a low birth weight baby than a normal weight baby. The mean of birth weights of babies born to mothers of normal height is more than the mean of birth weights of babies born to mothers of short stature by 277.01 gm. This study reaffirms the observation that maternal height has a direct effect on the weight of the newborn and we propose that maternal short stature be identified as an independent risk factor for low birth weight.

Authors and Affiliations

Wajihuddin Syed| Department of Preventive Medicine, Osmania Medical College, Koti, Hyderabad 500 095, Andhra Pradesh, India, Vipin Chandra Kamathi| Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mediciti Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad 501 401, Andhra Pradesh, India

Keywords

Related Articles

Colloidon baby – Rare case with preventable complications

Colloidon baby is a rare congenital disorder characterized clinically by parchment like taught membrane covering the whole body at the time of birth, which subsequently develops Non bullous ichthyosiform erythroderma o...

Molecular evolution of pathogenic bacteria based on rrsA gene

Evolution of pathogens in prokaryotic bacteria was studied by 16srRNA genes. In this study rrsA genes of 45 bacteria were considered, which includes pathogens, non-pathogens and out- group bacteria. We considered non-p...

CD4 lymphocyte response following anti-retroviral therapy in HIV/AIDS patients - A study in Osmania General Hospital

The present study aimed at serial three year assessment of CD4 cell response after initiation of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in patients with HIV/AIDS attending to Osmania General Hospital. It was a retrospective hos...

Lobular capillary hemangioma of esophagus mimicking Barrett’s esophagus

A 30 year old male patient presented to the outpatient department of Gastroenterology with complaints of dyspepsia of 6 months duration associated with progressive dysphagia to solids and liquids. There was no noticeab...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP12670
  • DOI -
  • Views 388
  • Downloads 27

How To Cite

Wajihuddin Syed, Vipin Chandra Kamathi (2012). Maternal short stature: A risk factor for low birth weight in neonates. Journal of Medical and Allied Sciences, 2(2), 62-65. https://www.europub.co.uk/articles/-A-12670