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Factors influencing human birth weight in normal pregnancy: A prospective study in a Brazilian university hospital

R.F. Pilotto^I; L.A. Magna^II; B. Beiguelman^II

^IDepartamento de Genétiea, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Caixa Postal 19071, 81531 Curitiba, PR, Brasil
^IIDepartamento de Genética Médica, FCM, UNICAMP, Caixa Postal 6111, 13081-970 Campinas, SP, Brasil. Send correspondence to B.B.

ABSTRACT

The effects of 17 variables on birth weight have been assessed in a prospective study of 1,045 singletons without major malformations, bom at a Brazilian teaching hospital to mothers with neither diabetes mellitus nor chronic hypertension. These variables were as follows: sex of the newborn, gestational age at delivery, type of delivery, birth order of the newborn, plaeental shape, placental weight, umbilieal eord length, point of insertion of the umbilieal eord in the plaeenta, eonsanguinity between the parents of the newborn, maternal skin color, height and age, paternal age, trimesters of antenatal care, average number of cigarettes smoked daily during pregnancy, maternal schooling, and economic status of the newborn's family. The interrelations between these variables were analysed in order to investigate their relative importance as determinants of birth weight variations. Only gestational age, placental weight, smoking during pregnancy, maternal height, sex of the newborn and birth order were retained as significant factors, influencing and explaining 60% of the total variance of birth weight. Among these factors, gestational age and plaeental weight were the most important since they explained 40% and 16%, respectively of the total variance of birth weight.

Keywords: Human birth weight.

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