Maternal and neonatal anthropometry

Anthropometric measurements were assessed in 434 Brazilian mother-baby pairs (263 appropriate-for-gestational-age [AGA] and 171 intrauterine growth-retarded [IUGR]) to compare their distribution and to evaluate associations in AGA and IUGR pairs. Mothers who delivered IUGR babies were thinner and shorter than mothers of AGA babies; the cut-off points of risk for delivering an IUGR baby were 50 kg for weight (OR = 3.8, p 30) mothers. We advise further large epidemiological studies to assess the diet of pregnant women and its relationship to maternal weight, weight gain and low birthweight (particularly IUGR) in countries with a considerable prevalence of maternal undernutrition and maternal overweight/obesity.