Low birth weight in a heterogenic population.
In order to elucidate some of the factors which influence the low birth weight rate, 22,815 deliveries were studied. It is already known that low birth weight (LBW) underlies the majority of infant deaths. It is also associated with an increased risk of permanent disability such as cerebral palsy, learning difficulties, and mental retardation of various degrees in survivors. In modern society these problems require major resources from the health budget. The Israeli population is composed of Jews and non-Jews, who differ not only in their religion but also in their customs. Most of the Jews are immigrants from many parts of the world who still retain many of the habits, customs and lifestyles of the societies they had lived in for many generations. We evaluated the LBW rate in these different groups. Jews and non-Jews have similar rates of LBW and similar mean birth weights. Other factors such as maternal age, parity, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy showed some statistically significant differences. LBW rates increase from 6.9% in the babies of women aged 24-40 years to 8.5% in those less than 24 years, and 9.5% in those over 40. The risk of LBW was increased in primiparae to 10%. The highest rates were found in babies of mothers with hypertension. Pregnancy induced hypertension is associated with a LBW rate of 15.6% and chronic hypertension with a rate of 23%. Moderate and severe preeclampsia are important risk factors since they increase the rate to 15% and 47.1%, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Mor-Yosef
S
S
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hadassah University Hospitals, Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Ezra
Y
Y
Samueloff
A
A
Moussa
F
F
Schenker
J G
JG
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel; D008423:Maternal Age; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular