title: Placental weight: relation to maternal weight and growth parameters of full-term babies at birth and during childhood.
abstract: Human growth is a continuous process. Studies defining placental effect on prenatal and postnatal human growth are few. We studied the anthropometric data of hundred mothers who gave birth at term after an uncomplicated singleton pregnancy, and their infants in relation to their placental weight using linear regression analysis. Mother weight, placental weight, and infant length (BL), weight (BW), and head circumference (HC) were obtained at birth and during childhood period (4.5 ± 2 years) of age. At birth, placental weights were correlated significantly with maternal weights (r = 0.21, P = 0.031). Placental weights were significantly correlated with growth parameters of the child at birth and during childhood. Infant BW (r = 0.71, r < 0.001), body mass index SDS (BMI SDS) (r = 0.589, P < 0.001), length SDS (LSDS) (0.567, P < 0.001) and HC (r = 0.699, P < 0.001). During childhood, placental weights were correlated with BMI SDS (r = 0.296, P = 0.002) and HtSDS = (r = 0.254, P = 0.009). LSDS at birth was correlated significantly with HtSDS during childhood (r = 0.445, P < 0.001). Placental weight represents a good marker of fetal growth (at birth) and significantly correlates with early childhood growth in full-term infants.
authors.affiliation: The Departments of Pediatrics, Hamad Medical Center, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Ashraf T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Soliman
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eldabbagh
authors.forename: Wail
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Saleem
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zahredin
authors.forename: Emad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shatla
authors.forename: Ashraf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001724:Birth Weight; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002508:Cephalometry; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016014:Linear Models; D009035:Mothers; D010920:Placenta / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: child BMI; child height SDS; infant BMI; infant length; mother weight; placental weight