Reference curves of birth weight, length, and head circumference for gestational ages in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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Ekawaty L Haksari1, Harrie N Lafeber2, Mohammad Hakimi3
1Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Gadjah Mada University, Sardjito General Hospital, Jl. Kesehatan No. 1, Yogyakarta, 55284, Indonesia. ekahaksari@yahoo.com.
Insights
Updated Indonesian birth weight curves help identify at-risk newborns. New data show boys and later-born infants have higher birth weights, aiding clinical assessment.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal research
- Pediatric growth monitoring
- Public health surveillance
Background:
- Established birth weight curves are crucial for identifying at-risk newborns.
- Previous Indonesian reference curves were outdated and based on limited data from teaching hospitals.
- There was a need for updated, comprehensive reference curves for Indonesia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To update reference curves for birth weight, supine length, and head circumference in Indonesia.
- To compare birth weight curves between genders, birth orders, and previous studies.
- To provide current data for neonatal risk assessment and monitoring.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Maternal-Perinatal database (1998-2007) including 54,599 singleton live births.
- Included infants with gestational ages from 26 to 42 weeks, excluding those with severe illnesses or abnormalities.
- Employed a third-order polynomial equation for curve smoothing.
Main Results:
- Constructed growth curves for birth weight, supine length, and head circumference for boys and girls.
- Found significantly higher mean birth weight for boys and later-born infants at term.
- Observed lower mean birth weight compared to Lubchenco's study, with lower preterm infant weights than a previous Indonesian study.
Conclusions:
- Updated neonatal reference curves are essential for classifying high-risk newborns.
- These curves aid in identifying infants requiring specialized attention and monitoring.
- The study provides crucial updated data for Indonesian neonatal care practices.
Background:
The birth weight reference curve to estimate the newborns at risk in need of assessment and monitoring has been established. The previous reference curves from Indonesia, approximately 8 years ago, were based on the data collected from teaching hospitals only with limited gestational ages. The aims of the study were to update the reference curves for birth weight, supine length and head circumference for Indonesia, and to compare birth weight curves of boys and girls, first child and later children, and the ones in the previous studies.
Methods:
Data were extracted from the Maternal-Perinatal database between 1998-2007. Only live singletons with recorded gestational ages of 26 to 42 weeks and the exact time of admission to the neonatal facilities delivered or referred within 24 h of age to Sardjito Hospital, five district hospitals and five health centers in Yogyakarta Special Territory were included. Newborns with severely ill conditions, congenital anomaly and chromosomal abnormality were excluded. Smoothening of the curves was accomplished using a third-order polynomial equation.
Results:
Our study included 54,599 singleton live births. Growth curves were constructed for boys (53.3%) and girls (46.7%) for birth weight, supine length, and head circumference. At term, mean birth weight for each gestational age of boys was significantly higher than that of girls. While mean birth weight for each gestational age of first-born-children, on the other hand was significantly lower than that of later-born-children. The mean birth weight was lower than that of Lubchenco's study. Compared with the previous Indonesian study by Alisyahbana, no differences were observed for the aterm infants, but lower mean birth weight was observed in preterm infants.
Conclusions:
Updated neonatal reference curves for birth weight, supine length and head circumference are important to classify high risk newborns in specific area and to identify newborns requiring attention.
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