Placenta weight percentile curves for singleton deliveries.

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Perinatal Medicine
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Accurate assessment of placental weight is essential for monitoring fetal well-being.
• Existing placental weight references are limited, lacking gender and gestational age specificity.
• Population-specific data is needed to establish normative values for placental parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To generate gender- and gestational-age-specific percentile curves for placental weight.
• To establish reference curves for the birthweight-to-placental weight ratio.
• To provide a valuable tool for clinical assessment and research in perinatal medicine.

Main Methods:

• Population-based study utilizing the Medical Birth Registry of Norway.
• Inclusion of all singleton live births in Norway between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2002.
• Analysis of placental weights and birthweight-to-placental weight ratios to construct percentile curves.

Main Results:

• Gender- and gestational-age-specific percentile curves for placental weight were generated.
• Percentile curves for the birthweight-to-placental weight ratio were also produced.
• Comprehensive tables and figures detailing these curves are presented.

Conclusions:

• This study presents the first population-based percentile curves for placental weight and the birthweight-to-placental weight ratio.
• These curves serve as a vital reference standard for clinical practice and research.
• The generated curves can be used as a preliminary reference for other populations until region-specific data becomes available.