A centile chart for birth weight for an urban population of the Western Cape.

Evidence from large epidemiological studies has supported concern that being born light for gestational age (LiGA) may be detrimental. The incidence of LiGA babies is an important indicator of the health of women of reproductive age in deprived communities. In the assessment of LiGA in the Western Cape, centile charts constructed for populations in other parts of the world are generally used. These charts, however, may not be appropriate. Patients residing in the area served by the Tygerberg Hospital obstetric service, who booked early with singleton pregnancies, had their gestational age confirmed by early ultrasound and delivered between 1 March 1989 and 28 February 1990 were included in the study. The sample consisted of 3,643 patients. The mean birth weight was 2,995 g (SD 573 g) and the range 760-5,080 g. The distribution of birth weight at each week of gestation from 28 to 42 weeks was not normal. The 4-parameter Johnson family of densities was used to model the distribution of birth weight at each gestational age. A comparison of the distribution of birth weight in the study relative to the perinatal growth chart for international reference constructed by Dunn was also made. In addition to considering an overall chart, the sample was subdivided according to a number of characteristics (e.g. gender, firstborn and latter-born babies, smoking habit, hypertensive disorders and induction of labour) in order to explore their impact on the distribution of birth weight. Having explored the potential impact of all these factors, it was concluded that a single chart including all patients could be constructed.