title: Maternal lean body mass and birth-weight.
abstract: Maternal lean body mass at booking was estimated according to a formula employing the body mass index and maternal age in a sample of 511 women who booked in the first trimester of pregnancy. The significance of this parameter in comparison with established predictors of birth-weight such as maternal weight, height, smoking, parity, gestational age and sex of the infant was examined using bivariate correlations and multiple regression analysis. Maternal lean body mass was found to be the most important determinant of birth-weight for gestation percentile. Cigarette smoking had a negative effect on birth-weight which was independent of maternal physique. The effect of maternal size on birth-weight is largely mediated through constitutional and genetic factors rather than nutrition.
authors.affiliation: University College Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mongelli
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D001824:Body Constitution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking