Premature or just small? Training Guatemalan birth attendants to weigh and assess gestational age of newborns: an analysis of outcomes.

We describe Guatemalan birth attendants' identification of vulnerable newborns, their evaluation of gestational age and anthropometry, and the validity of the Capurro and New Ballard newborn gestational age assessment methods. We interviewed 49 birth attendants and trained 10 of these women to assess 63 newborns. The Capurro and Ballard methods were correlated (Spearman rho = .75, p < .001) and showed agreement (Bland-Altman plot, difference and bias, -0.33 ± 1.3 weeks). Prematurity was estimated at 27% (Ballard) and 24% (Capurro); low birth weight (LBW) was 30%. Capurro provided a simplified, equivalent estimate of gestational age compared with New Ballard that could be used by birth attendants.