New standards for birth weight by gestational age using family data.

Abstract

This study was undertaken to provide new standards for birth weight according to gestational age through the addition of family data on maternal birth weight and birth weights of previous siblings. The analyses were based on 1.7 million births in Norway from 1967 through 1998. These population data were arranged into sibships and mother-offspring units through unique personal numbers. We categorized first births by sex and maternal birth weight and second births by sex and birth weight of the older sibling. Standards for birth weight per gestational age percentiles differed by >1100 g when the birth weight of an older sibling was considered and by almost 700 g when maternal birth weight was considered. The value of these new standards for birth weight according to gestational age was demonstrated through variation in perinatal mortality. Maternal birth weight and birth weights of previous siblings allow improved predictions of birth weight according to gestational age and should be used for classification of small-for-gestational-age births.