The obstetric significance of short stature.

A study is made of the obstetric performance of 2791 Maltese women in relation to their stature, the height of almost two-thirds of these mothers was 5 ft. or less. It is confirmed that today the shorter woman continues to carry a higher risk of low birth-weight, cesarean section, low Apgar score, and a bad obstetric history. It should be remembered that whereas maternal height is an index of the woman's general health and nutritional status from her childhood, yet a major role is also played by genetic factors. The obstetric significance of a particular height should be related to the patient's own genetic background. Obstetric management in relation to maternal height entails different cut-off points for different populations.