Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics

Background:An essential part of antenatal and perinatal care is the assessment of fetal growth. It is a reflection of the quality of the intrauterine environment and ultimately the infants{u2019} well-being. Data consistently show larger fetuses in developed countries than in developing countries. Aim of work: This study was done to compare Egyptian anthropometric measures of preterm infants at birth with the established international charts for preterms(Fenton). Patient and methods: This study is cross section study, includes about 2000 preterm newborn <37 weeks gestational age, delivered by any mode. Single measurement of weight, length and head circumference was taken at birth. Chromosomal or genetic abnormalities, congenital cyanotic heart diseases, intra uterine growth retardation (IUGR) and multiple births were excluded from the study. Results: This study show statisticalsignificance in length and head circumference between studied population and Fenton growth charts but no statisticalsignificance in weight. Also there is significant difference between both sexes of studied group. Conclusion: there{u2019}s difference of anthropometric measurements between studied group and Fenton growth charts. Our own Egyptian growth curves for pretermsmay be needed

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