Seasonal Parameters in Newborns under Conditions of the European North

Abstract

Data on all births in women of the city of Syktyvkar and adjacent villages (38 377 and 3828 births, respectively) were analyzed for the period from 1980 to 1999. Data on the women's age at childbirth, the delivery time, the body weight and length of the newborns, and their scores on the Apgar scale were taken into account. The season was found to be of importance for pregnancy and was associated with the woman's age at conception. The birth outcome parameters were identified as sensitive markers of the effect of unavoidable environmental factors of the North on the bodies of its residents.

Secular trends in pregnancy outcomes in 1980–1999 in the Komi Republic, Russia

“…However, another serious limitation of the study is the small number of variables included in the statistical models. Given that the available database was created prior to this study (18), the additional data collection was not possible due to logistical problems. We used all the data available in the birth journals.…”

“…For the purpose of this study we used data from the Komi database, which was collected in 2002-2003 and based on the birth journals at maternity homes in Syktyvkar and Vorkuta (18). We attempted to extract data on all births in Syktyvkar and Vorkuta during the 20year period between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 1999.…”

“…Available maternal information included maternal age in both settings and parity in Vorkuta. The data were abstracted manually from the maternity journals by the first author and checked by an independent observer (18).…”