Background. Patterns of fetal growth are largely influenced byenvironmental, nutritional, and socioeconomic factors more than differences inpopulations. The aim of this study was to assess anthropometric measurements ofEthiopian preterm infants at birth and compare the results with theinternational INTERGROWTH-21st data. Patients and methods. Weanalyzed anthropometric data on live-born singleton preterm infants enrolled ina hospital-based multicenter study of illness in preterm infants (SIP). Eligiblenewborns with gestational age of 28-36 weeks were included. Gestational age (GA)and sex-specific mean and standard deviations (SD), 10th, 50th, 90th, centilevalues for birth weight, length and head circumference (HC) were calculated andcompared with INTERGROWTH-21st data. Result. A total of 2763preterm infants were included in the study, 54% were male. The prevalence ofsmall for GA (SGA) (<10th percentile) and large for GA (LGA) (>90thpercentile) were 10.8% and 9.9%, respectively. In all 3 parameters, the meanvalues of boys were higher than of girls. Birth weight centiles were comparableto international averages at lower GA, then after GA of 32 weeks the 10th, 50th,and 90th centile values were 100-500 g less than the international averages. Thehead circumference centiles were mostly comparable, and the 90th centile valueswere greater than the international averages across the GA and in both sexes.Conclusion. The infants’ birth weights were smaller athigher GA, which may indicate maternal undernutrition in the third trimester ofpregnancy. Strengthening antenatal nutrition counseling and providing nutritionsupplementation might improve the birth weight.
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