Sizes at birth in Shiraz, Iran.

Size at birth of a random sample of 507 singleton healthy neonates (244 boys and 263 girls) of Shiraz (southern Iran) is presented. Mean +/- SD of girls and boys (p-value for sex difference) of supine length (mm), weight (g), mid upper arm circumference (mm), head circumference (mm) and chest circumference (mm) were estimated as 488 +/- 21 and 494 +/- 23 (p < 0.05); 3150 +/- 450 and 3300 +/- 500 (p < 0.005); 105 +/- 8 and 106 +/- 10 (p < 0.01); 342 +/- 13 and 346 +/- 15 (p < 0.0001); 324 +/- 18 and 326 +/- 20, (p > 0.05), respectively. Mothers' level of education, mothers' weight before conception and prior to giving birth, and family social class were identified as factors affecting size at birth, while birth order and fathers' level of education showed no significant effects on these measurements. Sizes at birth were significantly correlated together (p < 0.0001). The highest and lowest correlations were observed between chest circumference and weight (r = 0.77) and arm circumference and length of neonates (r = 0.45), respectively. The representativeness of the data suggest that the measurements obtained are likely to be applied to urban population of neonates of Iran.