Correlation between Cord Length, Birth Weight and Length of Neonates Following Delivery at a Tertiary Centre, Southern Nigeria

International Journal of Medical Science

© 2018 by SSRG - IJMS Journal

Volume 5 Issue 10

Year of Publication : 2018

Authors : Dennis O. Allagoa and Kotingo E.L

10.14445/23939117/IJMS-V5I10P102

How to Cite?

Dennis O. Allagoa and Kotingo E.L, "Correlation between Cord Length, Birth Weight and Length of Neonates Following Delivery at a Tertiary Centre, Southern Nigeria," SSRG International Journal of Medical Science, vol. 5,  no. 10, pp. 3-6, 2018. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23939117/IJMS-V5I10P102

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: The baby’s life hangs by a cord, making the umbilical cord the lifeline of the fetus. However, there is a major setback in this part of the world due to sociocultural practices of handing over the placenta and umbilical cord to family relatives for disposal, hence limiting anthropometric or biomedical studies. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to identify the relationship between the umbilical cord length, birth weight and new born length. METHODS: This is a prospective observational study including 486 pregnant women who presented with labour pain and were enrolled on admission to labour ward. Paturients who met the inclusion criteria were recruited consecutively and labour was then monitored partographically. Examination of umbilical cord post delivery was done, weight and length of the newborn measured. A structured self-administered questionnaire was designed and used to collect information from the paturients. The data was processed using SPSS windows version 22. RESULTS: The average umbilical cord length was 55.6 ± 7.6 cm and average baby’s length was 48.9 ± 3.0 cm. The mean birth weight was 3.1 ± 0.6 kg. There was a positive correlation of 0.00 between cord length, birth weight and new born length. CONCLUSION: There was positive relationship between the umbilical cord length, new born weight and length albeit negligible in this study. However, health education on the importance of detailed examination of the umbilical cord and placenta by skilled birth attendants is advised.

Keywords:

Umbilical cord length, Birth weight, Birth length

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