Relationship between maternal nutritional status and infant’s weight and body proportions at birth

Abstract

Objectives: To examine maternal nutritional status and its relationship to infant weight and body proportions. Design: Retrospective study of births from January±December 1990. Setting: University Hospital of the West Indies, Jamaica. Subjects: Records for 2394 live, singleton births, between 200±305 d gestation. Main outcome measures: Birth weight, crown heel length, head circumference, ponderal index, head circumference:length ratio, placental weight, placental:birth weight ratio. Results: Mothers who were lighter had babies who had lower birth weight, were shorter, had smaller heads and had a higher HC:L ratio. Shorter and thinner women had babies who had lower birth weights, were shorter, had smaller heads and lighter placentas. Thinner women also had babies with a lower placental:birth weight ratio, and their BMI's were not linearly related to ponderal index and HC:L ratio. Women whose ®rst trimester Hb levels were`9.5 g/dl had babies with the lowest birth weight, crown heel length, placental weight and ponderal index. These measurements increased as the Hb levels rose to 12.5 g/dl but then fell at Hb levels b 12.5 g/dl. In the second and third trimester Hb levels were negatively associated with birth weight, crown heel length, head circumference, placenta weight and ponderal index. Conclusions: The data support the hypothesis that poor maternal nutrition is associated with foetal growth restraint. Poor maternal nutrition as indicated by low weight, height, and BMI are associated with smaller, shorter babies with smaller heads. Haemoglobin levels b 12.5 g/dl in pregnancy are associated with lighter, shorter, thinner babies, with smaller heads.

Body composition in pregnancies of adolescents and mature women and the relationship to birth anthropometry

“…However parity was controlled for in these analyses and was found to have no significant effect on birth size. Women with lower weights in early pregnancy have been described as having smaller babies (Thame et al, 1997). This was not seen in this study as there was no significant difference seen between the birth weights of the infants of these two groups, despite the lower anthropometric measurements of the adolescents in the first trimester.…”

“…It has been shown that maternal pre-pregnancy weight and the weight gained during pregnancy influence birth weight (Abrams and Laros, 1986;Scholl et al, 1991;Thame et al, 1997;Abrams et al, 2000). The components of maternal pre-pregnancy weight and weight gained during pregnancy may be associated with or influence birth anthropometry.…”

Shortness at birth is associated with insulin resistance in pre-pubertal Jamaican children

“…It is likely that these were representative of the entire cohort as their anthropometry at birth was similar to that reported in studies of Jamaican newborns conducted in the 1970s (Lowry & Bailey, 1978) and 1990s (Thame et al, 1997).…”

“…Details related to mother's name, address, antenatal measurements of weight, height, blood pressure, haemoglobin concentration, gestational length, and date of delivery were abstracted from the hospital record. Routinely recorded measurements of birth weight, crown -heel length, crown -rump length and head circumference were also noted (Thame et al, 1997). Children were instructed to fast from 10:00 pm the night before the study and, together with their parent, were brought to the TMRU by 07:00 h.…”

Birthweight by Gestational Age and Sex at a Rural Referral Center

“…Birthweight by gestational age can be influenced by race, 3-8 ethnicity within and between races, 4,9-14 socioeconomic status, 15 gestational diabetes, 16 maternal smoking, maternal height and weight, 17 maternal weight gain during pregnancy, 18 and the newborn's sex. [3][4][5] Second-generation immigrants have been shown to have larger birthweight newborns than their first-generation counterparts.…”