OBJECTIVE: To derive newborn percentile charts using NSW population and hospital-based data. METHODOLOGY: Birthweight data for liveborn singleton infants were obtained from the New South Wales Midwives Data Collection (MDC) from 1990 to 1994 inclusive (n = 422139). Data were also collected from King George V Hospital (KGV) for liveborn ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare birthweight for gestational age of Aboriginal with Caucasian infants and investigate the origins of their differences. METHODOLOGY: Data pertaining to birthweight, gestational age at delivery and pathological factors were abstracted from birth records of 1301 Western Australian singleton Aboriginal pregnancies dated before 24 weeks by ultrasound fetometry ...

Improved survival of very pre-term infants is a result of advances in obstetric and neonatal medicine. To provide relevant data for a Northern Ireland population group, we evaluated mortality and morbidity of extremely low birthweight (ELBW; < 1000 g) infants from a tertiary referral neonatal unit. Seventy-seven ELBW infants were ...

Birth weight and gestational age are strongly associated with perinatal mortality and morbidity. This study was conducted to survey the vital statistics of premature and low birthweight infants in the Tainan area. Between July 1991 and April 1992, fifteen medical institutions were included on a voluntary basis: eight from level ...

OBJECTIVES: 1. To measure the incidence of low birth weight from all institutional deliveries in a defined catchment area of urban Harare. 2. To estimate the relative proportions of preterm and small for gestational age (SGA). DESIGN: The study was descriptive and was conducted during the last three months of ...

Neonatal intensive care has increased neonatal survival, but has also led to postponement of some of the neonatal deaths to the postneonatal period, particularly in very low birthweight (< 1.5 kg) infants. Our report assesses the impact of the increased neonatal survival and the accompanying delayed deaths on the crude ...

In recent years, survival of the extremely low birthweight infant has dramatically improved. Morbidity, both short- and long-term, however, remains very high Costs in the currency of pain and suffering for the newborn, stress and financial burdens for the family, and dollars for society are extensive. The controversial questions that ...

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between malondialdehyde-thiobarbituric acid (MDA-TBA) levels, as a measure of lipid peroxidation, in very low birthweight (VLBW) infants and outcome measures. A prospective observational longitudinal study was carried out in two level III neonatal units in the South Island of New ...

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the hypothesized association between persistent organochlorine compounds through the consumption of fatty fish from the Baltic Sea (at the Swedish east coast) and low birthweight. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During the period 1973-1991, 72 cases of low birthweight (1500-2750 g) were selected ...

Positive blood cultures in very low birthweight or preterm infants usually reflect bacteraemia, septicaemia, or failure of asepsis during sampling and lead to increased costs and length of stay. Rates of nosocomial, or hospital acquired, bacteraemia may therefore be important indicators of neonatal unit performance, if comparisons are adjusted for ...

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the birth outcomes of Japanese Americans, focusing on the role of the mother's place of birth. METHODS: Single live births to US-resident Japanese American mothers (n = 37,941) were selected from the 1983 through 1987 US linked live birth-infant death files. RESULTS: US-born mothers were more ...

OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether there were significant differentials between US-born and foreign-born women in risks of infant mortality, low birthweight, and preterm birth and whether these differentials, if they existed, varied across major US racial/ethnic groups. METHODS: Multivariate logistic regression was applied to national linked birth/infant death records for ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relation between maternal levels of blood glucose and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and infant size at birth in pregestational diabetes. DESIGN: Longitudinal study from 6 to 14 weeks gestation. Women were treated intensively with insulin, aiming at normoglycaemia but avoiding hypoglycaemia. Blood glucose was determined six times ...

The interpretation of variations in perinatal morbidity by immigration status has been difficult. Of particular concern is the lack of attention to adaptive capacity. This study explores the effect of acculturation on term low birthweight (LBW) in five ethnic groups representing different immigration experiences. Using Quebec birth certificates (1979-1988), two ...

Few studies have addressed the effect of maternal employment on late pregnancy outcomes. The National Maternal and Infant Health Survey, a probability sample of U.S. livebirths, stillbirths, and infant deaths in 1988, provided an opportunity to evaluate mothers' jobs in relation to preterm delivery, very low birthweight ( < 1,500 ...

BACKGROUND: Fifteen years after the implementation of an antenatal risk screening program in Cape Verde, the first assessment of an association between maternal obstetric characteristics and preterm birth or low birthweight (LBW) infants was undertaken. METHODS: A cohort of 353 systematically selected antenatal clinic attenders in the county of Praia, ...

Birthweight remains a good index for defining health care delivery as well as the status of the mother prenatally and during pregnancy. Birthweight is also an important assessor of neonatal viability. It varies from each community, region or nation with a 17% incidence of low birthweight in west Africa; 13.5% ...

Four statistical issues concerning the analysis of birthweight and maternal weight gain during pregnancy are discussed: (1) Part-whole correlation is described (e.g. the correlation between total maternal weight gain and her infant's birthweight). (2) The choice between a ratio or two separate explanatory variables is explored (e.g. body mass index ...

The large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infant, defined as > 90th birthweight percentile, is associated with mild disturbances of maternal glucose tolerance. In the UK the same birthweight percentile charts are used for all ethnic groups when assessing LGA infants. The influence of maternal hyperglycaemia on LGA infants of Asian (Indian Subcontinent) mothers ...

We determined the plasma concentration of granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) and the neutrophil count in 108 infants (gestational age 23-41 weeks; birthweight 478-4935g). The GCSF levels in the very low birthweight infants without infection were comparable to those in the full-term infants. Infants as premature as 23 weeks of gestation showed ...

Previous studies have demonstrated that acculturation is associated with negative birth outcomes among mothers in numerous immigrant populations, including Latinas. This study used structural equation models to reanalyze data employed in the 1989 Scribner and Dwyer study on the effect of acculturation (measured through the Cuellar scale) on mothers' low-birthweight ...

Birthweights of 3,451 infants of women registered for antenatal care in Uppsala County, Sweden, were analyzed using three different maternal socio-economic indicators; education, socio-economic status and work environment exposure characteristics. Other explanatory variables were maternal age, parity, height, smoking habits, and length of gestation. Mean birthweights increase with longer education ...

Short-term outcome in very low birthweight babies has never been closely examined in Papua New Guinea. A cohort of neonates born over a year at Port Moresby General Hospital was followed from birth to death or discharge. Intrauterine growth retardation was an important contributor to low birthweight. Simple, inexpensive care ...

OBJECTIVE: To obtain birthweight standards for south Indian babies. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: A tertiary care hospital in south India. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data from 11, 641 singleton live births between 1991 and 1994 were used to calculate smoothed gestation specific birthweight centiles for four categories based on sex ...

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests potential associations between birthweight and infant feeding history and risk of a variety of health outcomes during adulthood. Because studies may rely on self-reported birthweight and infant feeding history, it is important to assess the validity of this information. METHODS: The authors compared birthweights reported by ...

A study was performed to determine if the addition of a fortifier to expressed breast milk (EBM) affected gastric emptying in low birthweight infants. Using ultrasonography, the gastric emptying of EBM alone was compared with that containing a fortifier, in a blind, crossover study. Twenty two low birthweight infants were ...

For all 67 babies born in Greenland between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 1992 with a birthweight < 2000 g, birth certificates and clinical data were reviewed. The frequency of a birthweight of < 2000 g was 1.8%, which corresponds with Danish data. Twenty-four (35%) died. Compared with Danish ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine how employment, income and out-of-pocket expenses changed in 224 families of low birthweight infants during the first 6 months after the infant was discharged home. DESIGN: Prospective, descriptive. POPULATION, SAMPLE, SETTING, YEARS: Families of preterm, low birthweight infants. A convenience sample of families of 224 preterm (< ...

Since its development in the 1950s, the Apgar index has come into widespread use as a tool to evaluate neonatal condition, with predictive implications for mortality and morbidity. However, Apgar scores were validated in predominantly term infants and have questionable prognostic value for low birthweight infants. The purpose of this ...

Macrosomia (birthweight > or = 4,500 gm) is associated with increased perinatal morbidity and mortality. Although past studies have evaluated risk factors for macrosomia, little is known about the effect of a prior macrosomic birth on the risk for a macrosomic infant in a subsequent birth. To assess the risk ...

A retrospective review of 1316 neonates who had been evaluated in the Perinatal Laboratory of my institution during the years 1990 and 1991 was undertaken to study the relationship between birthweight for gestational age, maternal high-risk factors, and neonatal ponderal index with neonatal outcome. Patients were stratified as to gestational ...

Data of 10,514 singleton births collected over a ten year period at a single hospital are analysed and models linking birthweight and gestational age with mortality and morbidity defined by low Apgar scores are constructed and compared. Based on these models, charts of mortality and morbidity are drawn and compared ...

The aim of the study was to estimate the occurrence of low birthweight (LBW) and preterm birth among immigrant and Swedish women in Sweden. Eligible for analysis were all 1,270,407 singleton births in Sweden between 1978 and 1990 to mothers aged between 15 and 44 years, whose own country of ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of changing perinatal practices on survival rates and 4 year neurodevelopmental outcome for infants of birthweight 500-999 g. METHODOLOGY: The study was a tertiary hospital-based prospective cohort study that compared survival, impairment and handicap rates between two eras, July 1977 to December 1982 (era 1) ...

The relationship between the birthweight of white and black mothers and the outcomes of their infants were examined using the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey. White and black women who were low birthweight themselves were at increased risk of delivering very low birthweight (VLBW), moderately low birthweight (MLBW), ...

We determined the relative contributions of individual birthweight groups to the reduction in neonatal mortality rate (NMR) of US singleton livebirths from 1960 to 1986, the period during which neonatal intensive care was introduced and became established. Changes in the NMR for each race (non-white/white) and birthweight group were assessed ...

Prenatal care has been identified as necessary to reducing the disparity in infant mortality between black and white infants. The purpose of this paper is to review determinants of the disparity and describe the contribution that prenatal care can make to modifying those determinants, biologic or social. When examined by ...

OBJECTIVE: In order to frame the appropriateness of neonatal mortality reduction efforts that begin only after pregnancy is recognized, this study examined the relative contributions of different gestational age and birthweight groups to total neonatal mortality and to racial disparities in neonatal mortality in the United States. METHODS: Using the ...

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physicians' qualifications and experience and rates of completion of the recommended number of prenatal visits and delivery of a low-birthweight infant. METHODS: All deliveries performed by a permanently licensed physician in Massachusetts in 1990 (n = 80,537) were ...

A prospective study of the outcome of care of a regional cohort of very low birthweight (< 1500 g) and very preterm (< 32 weeks) infants was carried out. Its aims were to assess the ability of the CRIB (clinical risk index for babies) score, rather than gestational age or ...

Belgium is known to have a lesser low birthweight rate and a lower infant mortality rate than the United States. We used previously unpublished data to show that beneath this comparison lies a more complicated picture. Singleton live birth certificates for 1986-87 were analysed. Despite a lower mean birthweight in ...

Exogenous surfactant therapy for premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome has had a significant impact on infant mortality and on some complications of prematurity. Yet the total number of low-birthweight infants has not declined, resulting in a high-risk population who would require surfactant therapy and long-term child care. Surviving low-birthweight ...

We studied the efficiency of two common sampling strategies used to assemble cohorts to study the long-term problems of preterm infants: infants with birthweights of 500-1499 g, and infants with gestational ages (GA) of < 31 weeks. Birthweight, GA and 2-year outcome data from a population based study of infants ...

To study the trends in gestational age and birthweight in France, we compared data from three surveys that were based on representative samples of births in 10 French regions and were conducted in 1972, 1981 and 1988-89. Only single livebirths were considered in the analysis. The rate of preterm births ...

Low birthweight (LBW) is cited as an important determinant of infectious disease mortality during infancy, both in developed and developing countries. We applied methodological standards to evaluate the scientific validity and clinical applicability of epidemiological studies of this relationship. Three published studies, all reporting an elevation of the risk of ...

Current information and concepts regarding unique features and practical aspects of metabolism and the nutritional management of critically ill, very low birthweight neonates are reviewed in this article. The use of "gut priming" (early hypocaloric minimal enteral feeding) and parenteral nutrition and their application to the treatment of specific disease ...

BACKGROUND: Previous research has suggested that terbutaline sulfate increases serum glucose in pregnant women. Increases in serum glucose in women who have gestational diabetes mellitus often lead to the birth of larger infants. This study examines the effect on infant birthweight of terbutaline used as a tocolytic agent in otherwise ...

This review of common risk factors for low birthweight emphasizes the usefulness of examining the entire distribution of birthweight. Of the factors we examined, only short gestational age seemed to affect the low end of the birthweight distribution in the form of skewness. Most factors, such as maternal race, infant ...

Trends and variations in births to unmarried women for 1980-92 are presented by demographic characteristics including age, race, Hispanic origin, and educational attainment of mother, and live-birth order. Health aspects of nonmarital childbearing are discussed, including prenatal care, smoking, maternal weight gain, and infant birthweight. Social and behavioral factors affecting ...

This paper attempts to explain the differences in birthweight observed between blacks, white Anglos, Chicanos, and other racial and ethnic groups. The analysis focuses on the role of income and financial assistance from relatives and public programs. Using data from the NLS Youth Panel, I construct a casual model of ...