Anthropometric characteristics of the upper Egyptian newborns in comparison with other countries

ABSTRACT

A sample of 151 full term infants [89 males and 62 females] was taken from Minia district of Upper Egypt. The infants were subjected to different anthropometric measurements within 24 hours after birth. It appeared that there were no significant differences in the various body measurements between male and female newborns except for skin-fold thickness where female values were significantly greater than male values. Considering that the fat tissue is laid down only during the last weeks of gestation, this represents a marked sex difference. In comparison with some anthropometric measurements of newborn infants elsewhere, the present sample did not show any significantly retarded growth measurement. This indicates that the indicators of growth welfare of the Upper Egyptian newborns are promising and inore attention should be made to the postnatal period