Anthropometrical measurements of healthy newborn babies in Karachi, and the factors affecting these parameters

ABSTRACT

The present cross-sectional study was undertaken with the aim of establishing norms for birth weight, crown heel length, and head circumference of the newborns in the population of Karachi. It was conducted in four public and private hospitals of Karachi, covering middle to low-income areas during a period of 2 years. There were 404 mothers and their babies included in this study that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. Anthropometric measurements including birth weight, crown heel length, and occipitofrontal circumference [OFC] were recorded within 24 hours of birth. Maternal age, parity, gestational age, newborn gender, Apgar score, and delivery mode were also recorded. The data entry and analysis was done on Statistical Packages of Social Sciences [SPSS] version 21. The mean birth weights of the babies were found to be 3.03 +/- 0.39 kg, crown heel length were 49.2 +/- 2.4 cm, and OFC were 34 +/- 1.5 cm. A statistically significant difference was found between the gender of the babies [male=3.07 +/- 0.4 kg versus female=3.0 +/- 0.4 kg] for birth weight [p=0.02]. This study provides the mean values of anthropometric measurements of the newborns in low-income areas of Karachi