Infants with an inappropriate birth weight for their gestational age are more likely to develop complications during pregnancy and postpartum, and have increased long-term health risks.
To determine the prevalence and risk factors for infants with inappropriate birth weight for their gestational age.
We enrolled 820 women with uncomplicated, singleton pregnancies who gave birth to a live born infant at term. Prepregnancy baseline and obstetric information were extracted from medical records, including body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain, and infant birth weight. Prevalence of small-for-gestational age (SGA) and large-for-gestational age (LGA) infants was determined. We compared variables between groups to identify associated factors.
Prevalence of SGA was 2.6% and LGA was 10.5%. Prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain were significantly higher in the LGA than in the SGA group (
Controlling gestational weight gain may improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.