Trend In Birth -Weight Of Babies Born In Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

The birth-weight of 5,324 live singleton infants born between 1st January, 1998 and 31st December, 2001 were recorded within the first hour of delivery and analysed. The mean birth-weight was higher in males 3276 ± 484g than in females 3112 ± 562g. The mean birth-weight (both sexes combined) showed an upward trend from 3170 ± 582g in 1998 to 3243g in 2001; giving a difference of 73g. The increase may be due to improvement in socio-economic well being of the populace. There was also a trend towards heavier babies in the wet season.

Keywords: Birth-weight, Singleton, Seasonal variation.

Annals of Biomedical Science Vol. 1 (2) 2002: pp. 148-151