Customised birthweight standard for a Slovenian population

Area of Science:

• Perinatal Medicine
• Public Health
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Accurate birthweight standards are crucial for assessing fetal growth and identifying potential complications.
• Existing birthweight standards may not accurately reflect the diverse physiological and pathological factors influencing infant development in specific populations.
• The National Perinatal Information System (NPIS) in Slovenia provides a valuable dataset for developing localized standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a customized, country-specific birthweight standard for Slovenia.
• To identify key physiological and pathological determinants of birthweight within the Slovenian population.
• To enhance clinical decision-making for identifying and managing small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infants.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study utilizing data from Slovenia's National Perinatal Information System (NPIS) (2003-2012).
• Inclusion of prospectively collected data from all 14 Slovenian maternal hospitals.
• Application of backward stepwise multiple regression analysis to derive birthweight prediction coefficients.

Main Results:

• Analysis of 126,627 deliveries identified maternal height, pre-pregnancy weight, parity, and infant sex as significant physiological predictors of birthweight.
• Pathological factors influencing birthweight included maternal age, body mass index (BMI), smoking, pre-existing and gestational diabetes, and hypertension.
• A reference birthweight for a standard-sized mother in her first pregnancy was established at 3451.3 g.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully established a country-specific birthweight standard for Slovenia, incorporating key physiological variables.
• Quantified the impact of pathological factors such as maternal age and gestational diabetes on birthweight.
• The developed standard is expected to improve the accurate identification of SGA fetuses, reduce unnecessary interventions, and enhance the management of high-risk pregnancies, ultimately improving infant outcomes.