Current pattern of Ponderal Indices of term small-for-gestational age in a population of Nigerian babies

BACKGROUND: Small-for-gestational age (SGA) newborns constitute a special group of neonates who may have suffered varying degrees of intrauterine insults and deprivation. Variations in birth weight, length and Ponderal Index (PI) depend on the type and degree of intrauterine insults the babies were exposed to. The objective of the study was to determine the current prevalence of term SGA births in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital and the current pattern of Ponderal Indices among term SGA in a population of Nigerian babies. METHODS: Subjects comprised of consecutive term singleton mother-baby pairs in the first 24 hours of life. It was a cross sectional study. The anthropometric parameters of each baby were recorded and the PI was also determined. RESULTS: Out of 1,052 live births during the study period (September to December, 2009), 825 were term, singleton babies. Five hundred and eight-one babies (70.4%) fall into the upper socio-economic classes 1 and II, 193 (23.4%) in the middle class and 51 (6.2%) were of the lower classes IV and V. None of the mothers indicated ingestion of alcohol or smoking of cigarette. Fifty-nine babies (7.2%) were small-for gestational age (SGA). Of the 59 SGA subjects, 26 (44.1%) were symmetrical SGA while 33 (55.9%) were asymmetrical SGA. There was no significant sex or socioeconomic predilection for either symmetrical or asymmetrical growth (p = 0.59, 0.73 respectively). CONCLUSION: The findings showed that proportionality in SGA fetuses is a continuum, with the PI depending on the duration of intrauterine insult and the extent of its effects on weight and length before delivery.