The effects of sex, parity and maternal age on birth weights in a specialist hospital setting in Nigeria.
This study looked at the combined effects of maternal age, fetal sex and parity in a specialist hospital setting and compared it with already published figures obtained from public health-care data in Nigeria. The results show a relationship exists with bivariate analysis between these variables and birth weight, but with multivariate analysis the relationship proves to be spurious. Socio-economic status and maternal health were felt to be the most important considerations within the specialist hospital setting, as patients who attend are more likely to be of high socio-economic status and therefore on a higher income and better educated. This has a beneficial impact on maternal health and a positive outcome on birth weight.
Okoro
T
T
Leicester-Warwick Medical School, University Of Warwick, Coventry, UK. tosanwumi@hotmail.com
Njokanma
F
F
Goswami
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D006782:Hospitals, Special; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D009549:Nigeria; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012727:Sex Characteristics