Hospital Based Gestational Age Specific Birth Charts in Urban Bangladesh

This study aimed to develop such growth chart in Bangladesh, to exactly evaluate an individual newborn ’s growth pattern by comparing growth of its different parts with that of a standard one. A cross sectional observational study conducted at fifteen non-government maternity centers located in different parts of Dhaka, Narayanganj and Narsingdi. Birth weight, birth length, head and chest circumfer ences of five thousand one hundred and five singleton newborns’ with gestational ages ranging from 35 to 42 weeks were recorded during June 2014 to July 2015. Trained Physicians and paramedics of respective centers recorded data. Gestational age specific percentile charts were constructed for birt h weight, birth length, head circumference and chest circumference. Mean birth weight, birth length, head and chest circumferences were found to be respectively 2966g, 47.1, 33.2 and 32.3 cm which were more or less comparable to some other studies in the country and also higher than some of the stud ies. Most strikingly, prevalence of low birth weight was found to be 11 percent which is significantly lower than any other study conducted in the country. The 10th, 50th and 90th percentile values of birth weight at 40th weeks of gestation were respectively found to be 2600g, 3000g and 3600g. The linear and circumference growth at 40th weeks of gestation match with the percentile values of birth weight. Constructed growth charts are more or less comparable to some South Asian countries bu...
Source: Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research