Birth weight of infants in Jos, Nigeria

The birth weight of 996 singleton infants was recorded soon after delivery and analysed. The mean birth weight was higher in males 3203 +/- 350g. than in females 3186 +/- 338g. The difference in mean birth weight between male and female infants was not significant (P greater than 0.5). There was no definite relationship between parity and the mean birth weight of both male and female infants but there was a significant difference between the mean weight of the various parity groups for both male and female infants. The birth weight rose with increasing maternal age for both sexes of infants. The differences in mean birth weight in the various maternal age groups however, were not significant. The incidence of low birth weight in this series was 12.2%; being lower in males which comprised 46.2% of the total as compared to 53.8% for the female infants. Our results were compared with those in studies from other parts of Nigeria as well as from other countries.

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