Birth Weight and Gestational Age in Relation to the Course of Pregnancy

Overview

Background.
In midpregnancy, more than 3000 women in Brno filled in the questionnaires for the ELSPAC study.They informed of their health, activities, stress and psychological state during this pregnancy.Methods and Results. Out of medical documentation, the results from routine prenatal examinations wereextracted and records concerning all disorders occurred during the gravidity. After delivery, information commingfrom both sources were linked to the birth weight (BW) and gestational age (GA) data of newborns and analysis ofvariance was performed. In statistically significant relations the differences were stated in BW (grams) and in GA(weeks) between the group means and sample means for boys, girls and all newborns together. BW, GA or bothvalues were significantly lower after taking some medicaments, alcohol drinking, in offsprings of mothers who feltfeeble around the quickening, who worked part time, who were in leading position in their employments, whoexperienced serious disease, who tempted a suicide, who worried that the foetus might be handicapped in any wayand who did not take their future motherhood for a priority. Heavier were newborns of women who married duringpregnancy and longer GA had children of those who took folic acid. The relation of neurotic symptoms to the outcomeof pregnancy was not found and stressogenic events showed only a limited effect on it. A strong deficit in BW andGA followed after premature abruption of placenta, after eclampsia, placenta praevia, cervical cerclage, partuspremature imminens, bleeding in the 2nd trimester, hypertension and hospitalization, namely when repeated. BWonly was lower with IUGR, oligohydramnion, and higher BW followed after oedemas. GA only was affected inthose whose mothers omitted the sonographic examination and who were obliged to have a special diet.Conclusions. When newborns BWs were divided into 8 classes by 500 g and some maternal characters follow edacross the scale, significant trends were found in maternal heights, in all their weight indicators including maternalBW as well as in the weight gain in pregnancy, in the highest means found during pregnancy of systolic and diastolicblood pressures and in the lowest haemoglobin levels.

Key words:
birth weight, gestational age, risk factors, disorders of pregnancy, body size of mothers, activities inpregnancy, stress, neurotic symptoms, epidemiologic study.