Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #117907

Soussan Parsay, PhD, Department of Social Medicine and Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Evin, Tehran, Iran, (98)(21)895-9277, shizarnahidi@yahoo.com and Farnaz Vahidnia, MD, MPH, Bixby Program in Family Planning, Maternal Health, and Reproductive Health, University of California at Berkeley, 1213 Tolman Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1690.

Authors collected data from 700 mothers and babies, using structured questionnaires and direct measurements. Study participants were recruited from delivery wards of 12 university hospitals in Tehran, Iran for duration of six months. Women 18-35 years of age, with singleton term pregnancy and normal vaginal delivery were included in the study. Mothers with history of chronic disease or major pregnancy problems and babies with congenital anomalies were excluded from the study. Mother's were interviewed, and their height and arm circumferences as well as their newborn's health indicators (weight, height, and head circumference) were measured directly. Results: Mean height and mean arm circumference of mothers were 159.0 and 26.9 cm respectively. Newborn's weight, height and head circumference were 3.2 kg, 49.7 cm, and 34.4 cm respectively. Cut-off point for delivery of a low-birth weight baby was mother's height of less than 152 cm and arm circumference of less than 23 cm. Conclusion: We can screen mothers who are at high risk for delivering low-birth weight babies by measuring height and arm circumference at anytime during pregnancy.

Learning Objectives:

• Purpose of present study is to evaluate the relationship between mother’s height and arm circumference, and newborn’s health indicators in university hospitals of Tehran, Iran.

Keywords: Prenatal Care, Maternal and Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.