Relationship between maternal pelvis height and other anthropometric measurements in a multisite cohort of Ugandan mothers

Abstract

IntroductionIn sub Saharan Africa, childbirth remains a challenge that creates the need for additional screening tools. Maternal pelvis height, which is currently in use by automotive engineers has previously been shown to have significant associations with various childbirth related outcomes and events. This study set out to determine the associations between maternal: Age, height, weight and number of pregnancies with maternal pelvis height in Ugandan mothers.MethodsThis was a secondary analysis of maternal birth records from nine Ugandan hospitals, of mothers with singleton pregnancies. Data was analyzed using multilevel regression with respect to maternal pelvis height and additional analysis for tribe and site of childbirth intraclass correlations (ICCs).ResultsThe mean maternal pelvis height was 7.30cm for the 2068 records. Maternal pelvis height was associated with: a 0.01cm reduction per centimeter of maternal height (P=0.02), 0.01cm increase per kg of maternal weight (P<0.01), 0.04cm increase for each additional pregnancy (P=0.03) and 0.03cm increase with respect to tribe of mother (P=0.27), for a constant of 7.97cm (P<0.01). The ICC for tribe was 0.20 (SE=0.08) and 0.37 (SE=0.11) for site.ConclusionMaternal pelvis height was associated with maternal height, maternal weight and number of pregnancies. The site of childbirth had a moderate effect on the above associations with maternal pelvis height. More study on the public health screening value of these measurements in these settings is required.

Influence of maternal pelvis height and other anthropometric measurements on the duration of normal childbirth in Ugandan mothers

“…For this analysis maternal tribe was used a proxy of the mothers genetic variability, thus the observed absence of the effect on site with inclusion of the tribe ICCs. This holds true despite our earlier observed mild effect of maternal tribe on the associations between maternal pelvis height and maternal height (Munabi et al, 2016a). This absence of effect on the duration of childbirth due to tribe is also supported by observations made in previous studies looking at immigrant populations in the United Kingdom (UK) found no difference in duration of childbirth for Chinese (Shah et al, 2011), Somali (Yoong et al, 2005), and Turks (Kanthasamy et al, 2013) compared with native white British women.…”

Obstetric fistulas in Uganda: scoping review using a determinant of health approach to provide a framework for health policy improvement

“…African women are believed to have a more narrow pelvis than Europeans, which predisposes them to cephalopelvic disproportion [18,19]. Within Uganda, the mean pelvic height is significantly different within several tribes, yet regression modelling does not show a strong correlation between tribe and pelvic height [20]. The correlation between certain areas and pelvic height is stronger, which suggests that not so much the genetics of a certain tribe, but more so other determinants linked to a certain area that influence the pelvic size [20].…”

Relationship between Birth Order and Postnatal Growth until 4 Years of Age: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study

“…It is assumed that these combined factors resulted in the current findings. The pelvic height and placenta are known to be larger in postpartum women than in primiparous women [ 42 , 43 ]. These may make later-borns less restricted in their growth in utero due to fewer structural restrictions and a more adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients [ 44 ].…”