Predictability of offspring birth weight using simple parental anthropometrics in a government hospital in Lagos, Nigeria

• Published in: International journal of medicine and biomedical research Vol. 1; no. 3; pp. 206 - 214
• Main Authors: Taiwo, I.A, Akinde, O.R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lagos Michael Joanna Publications 01.09.2012
• DOI: 10.14194/ijmbr.138
• ISSN: 2277-0941

Birth weight is of interest to quantitative geneticists and to obstetricians being one of the most important complex traits that determine perinatal outcome. Moreover, It is a predictor of mother's and baby's health later in life. The aim is to determine the parental anthropometric predictors of baby's birth weight in Lagos, Nigeria. Using parental explanatory variables to predict baby's weight could complement the already existing predictive methods such as ultrasonography for more accurate prediction of birth weight. Parental parameters such as weight, height, BMI and other anthropometric attributes were obtained from 250 couples. Baby's birth weight was taken immediately after birth. Only three parental factors were needed to substantially predict offspring birth weight. These include mid-paternal weight which was the most explanatory variable, followed by parity, and then maternal weight. Complementing ultrasonographic and other data with information from parental variables, especially mid-paternal weight, parity and maternal weight might improve accuracy of prediction of low birth weight or macrosomic babies and therefore a reduction in perinatal failure