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  • Title: Birthweights in Goroka and Kainantu Hospitals.
    Author: Greenfield H.
    Journal: P N G Med J; 1983 Jun; 26(2):93-8. PubMed ID: 6593967.
    Abstract:
    Birthweight data for 4474 live, healthy, singleton, full-term births of 2000g or over were analysed. The mean birthweights were 3136 +/- 445g at Goroka, and 3106 +/- 473g at Kainantu. Birthweights varied with sex, region of maternal origin, season and birth order, but not with year. Significant influences on Goroka birthweight values were, in order of importance, birth order, sex and season. Birth weight data on 4954 healthy, full term, singleton births at 2 hospital in the highland region of Papua New Guinea was obtained from hospital records, and factors influencing the birth weights were assessed using correlation and multiple regression techniques. The study included 4474 infants born at Goroka Hospital between 1964-65 and 1970-73 and 480 infants born at Kainantu Hospital between 1970-73. The study constitutes the largest series of birth weight data currently available for Papua New Guinea and was collected and analyzed in such a way as to make it possible to compare the data with a 1972 study of births at Port Moresby General Hospital. The overall mean birth weight was 3136 gm + or-445 for Goroka Hospital and 3106 gm + or-473 Kainantu Hospital. Birth order had a significant and positive influence on birth weight at Gorka Hospital. At Kainantu Hospital information was available only on whether the birth was a 1st birth or not. Birth weights were significantly lower for the 1st birth than for all other births at Kainantu Hospital. Male infants weighed significantly more than female infants at both hospitals. Babies born during the dry season were heavier than those born during the wet season; however, the correlation was significant at the 99% confidence level for Goroka Hospital only. Maternal residence had a significant impact on birth weights at Goroka Hospital only. Women residing in the highlands had infants with significantly higher birth weights than infants born to women residing in the coastal and island areas. Mean birth weights were 3149 for the former and 2988 for the latter group. These differences probably reflect regional difference in maternal weight and height and the higher prevalence of anemia and malaria in the coastal and island regions. The regional differences were similar to those noted in the Port Moresby General Hospital survey. Year of birth was not significantly related to birth weight at either hospital. Perhaps a longer time series would be able to detect small and gradual increments in birth weights attributable to improved nutrition over the years. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the rank order of the significant variables influencing birth order in decreasing order of importance were birth order, sex, and season of the year. An increase in the number of births during the time period studied was observed at both hospitals. These increases were apparently due to a preference for hospital births rather than to an increase in the total number of births in the regions under study. The results of the study were presented in 6 tables.
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