BACKGROUND: Elevated maternal serum uric acid (UA) levels were associated with adverse perinatal outcomes. This study aimed to examine the association between UA and the risk of low birth weight (LBW) / small for gestational age (SGA).
METHODS: A cohort study of women delivered in Shanghai maternity hospital was included between 2017 and 2021. Electronic medical records were utilized to extract information and antenatal care records. The cut-off value of UA was 360 μmol/L. The outcome was LBW/SGA, with LBW defined as birth weight below 2500 g and SGA indicating birth weight below the 10th percentile of average weight for gestational age. The assessment of SGA was based on the Chinese standard curve for birth weight at various gestational ages. Univariate, multivariate logistic regression models, restricted cubic spline were used in this study, with adjustments made for confounding factors.
RESULTS: Sixty-nine thousand six hundred seventy-four live births and singleton pregnancies were included. The ratio of LBW/SGA was 3.3%/9%. Maternal UA levels were significantly negatively correlated with birth weight. High UA levels were associated with high risk of LBW/SGA, especially in third trimester. In BMI < 25 group, the risk of LBW increased to 2.35-fold (95%CI, 1.66-3.31) in hyperuricemic group (UA > 360 μmol/L). The SGA risk was 1.66-fold (95%CI, 1.37-2.00). Gestational hypertension (GH) with hyperuricemica increased the risk of LBW (aOR = 4.00, 95%CI, 2.01-7.93) and SGA (aOR = 2.63, 95%CI, 1.83-3.78). Preeclampsia (PE) with hyperuricemia increased the risk of LBW (aOR = 1.38, 95%CI, 0.63-3.03) and SGA (aOR = 1.81, 95%CI, 1.18-2.78). In delivery gestational week (DGW) ≥ 37 group, if UA > 360 μmol/L, the incidence of LBW increased to 2.46-fold (95%CI, 1.62, 3.73) and the incidence of SGA increased to 1.52-fold (95%CI, 1.24, 1.87). In DGW < 37 group, if UA > 360 μmol/L, the incidence of LBW increased to 2.70-fold (95%CI, 1.92, 3.80) and the incidence of SGA increased to 2.13-fold(95%CI, 1.50, 3.02).
CONCLUSIONS: The study found an inverse correlation between UA levels and birth weight. High UA levels were associated with increased risk of LBW/SGA, particularly in third trimester. GH or PE complicated by hyperuricemia were found to have significantly higher risk of developing LBW/SGA. This relationship also existed in pregnant women with BMI < 25.

BACKGROUND: The rising number of newborns requiring neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) care poses immediate threats to their health and places emotional and financial burdens on families and healthcare systems. This study investigates the direct effect of maternal short stature on NICU admission in Sabah, Malaysia.
METHODS: A longitudinal study at Hospital Wanita Dan Kanak-Kanak Sabah (HWKKS) from 2018 to 2022 included 254 Malaysian women with singleton pregnancies and neonates born after the 37th week, excluding significant disorders, smoking/alcohol use, fetal death, and malformations. Birth weight, gestational age, and neonatal condition were recorded. The association between maternal height, low birth weight (LBW), and NICU admission was analyzed.
RESULTS: LBW prevalence was 15.35%, with an average participant height of 147.37 cm. Maternal stature was significantly associated with LBW, with the shortest quartile (Q1) having the highest risk. LBW was significantly associated with NICU admission, with LBW newborns at a sixfold higher risk. Maternal height was also significantly associated with NICU admission, with Q1 having the highest risk. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve suggested combining Q1 and Q2 for the best prediction of NICU admission, indicating that shorter mothers face a higher risk of neonates requiring NICU care.
CONCLUSIONS: Maternal short stature could be a valuable predictor of LBW and NICU admission risk. It may be a screening tool to assess these risks in healthcare settings. However, further research is needed to explore this association\'s underlying mechanisms and potential interventions.

OBJECTIVE: Previous research has shown that low birth weight is one of the risk factors for esophageal atresia. However, there remains a paucity of evidence on the timing and the treatment method.
METHODS: Data were collected using a multi-institutional observational study in 11 hospitals that performed surgeries on esophageal atresia babies whose birth weights were ≤1500 g from 2001 to 2020.
RESULTS: Of the 46 patients analyzed, median birth weight was 1233 (IQR 1042-1412) g. Within 46 cases, 19 (41%) underwent definitive esophageal anastomosis at the median of age in 8 (IQR 2-101) days. Thirteen out of 19 experienced either closure of tracheoesophageal fistula, gastrostomy, or esophageal banding at the first operation, followed by esophageal anastomosis. Seven infants, including four cases of <1000 g, underwent anastomosis after one month of age to wait for weight gain (variously 2-3000 g). Twenty-one out of 27 infants (78%) who did not receive anastomosis died within one year of age, including 21 (78 %) with major cardiac anomalies and 24 (89%) with severe chromosomal anomalies (trisomy 18). Six survivors in this group, all with trisomy 18, lived with palliative surgical treatments.
CONCLUSIONS: In our study, the definitive esophageal anastomosis was effective either at the first operation or as a later treatment after gaining weight. Although having severe anomalies, some infants receive palliative surgical treatments, and the next surgery was considered depending on their condition.
METHODS: II.

Fetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity are connected to low birth weight (LBW), which is also associated with slow growth and cognitive development. Several factors, such as maternal nutrition, LBW deliveries, and additional dietary intake, contribute to pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to compare the maternal serum zinc levels between the LBW and normal birth weight neonates. Moreover, we will also determine the frequency of LBW in the local population.
UNASSIGNED: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital from June 2021 to June 2022. Three hundred eighty-two gravid females with active labor (≥2 uterine contractions in 10 min) were enrolled in the study. Neonates at birth were weighed and divided into two groups: LBW and average or normal birth weight. Maternal serum zinc levels were performed by serum multi-element spectrometry (ICP-DRC-MS method). The data were analyzed using SPSS software.
UNASSIGNED: Three hundred eighty-two patients enrolled in this study. The results showed the mean age of patients was 24.04±3.49 years, and the mean maternal zinc levels were found to be 75.32±13.80 μg/dl, respectively. Babies delivered at LBW had low maternal mean serum zinc levels (63.88±10.95 mg/dl) compared to babies with normal birth weight whose levels were comparatively high (83.83±8.57 mg/dl).
UNASSIGNED: It can be concluded that maternal dietary factors and nutrition are essential during fetal development and have an important association with birth weight.Zinc supplementation and other minerals should be prioritized because they may increase these infants\' birth weight. Increasing maternal zinc consumption has a significant positive linear relationship with infant birth weight.

UNASSIGNED: To implement the immediate Kangaroo mother care (iKMC) intervention in the previous multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial, the mother or a surrogate caregiver and neonate needed to be together continuously, which led to the concept of the Mother-Newborn Care Unit (MNCU). Health-care providers and administrators were concerned of the potential increase in infections caused by the continuous presence of mothers or surrogates in the MNCU. We aimed to assess the incidence of neonatal sepsis in sub-groups and the bacterial profile among intervention and control neonates in the study population.
UNASSIGNED: This is a post-hoc analysis of the previous iKMC trial, which was conducted in five level 2 Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICUs) one each in Ghana, India, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania, in neonates with birth weight 1 to <1.8 kg. The intervention was KMC initiated immediately after birth and continued until discharge and compared to conventional care with KMC initiated after meeting stability criteria. The primary outcomes of this report were the incidence of neonatal sepsis in sub-groups, sepsis-related mortality and bacterial profile of isolates during hospital stay. The original trial is registered with the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12618001880235) and the Clinical Trials Registry-India (CTRI/2018/08/01536).
UNASSIGNED: Between November 30, 2017, and January 20, 2020, 1609 newborns in the intervention group and in the control group 1602 newborns were enrolled in iKMC study. 1575 newborns in the intervention group and 1561 in the control group were clinically evaluated for sepsis. Suspected sepsis was 14% lower in intervention group in sub-group of neonates with birth weight 1.0-<1.5 kg; RR 0.86 (CI 0.75, 0.99). Among neonates with birth weight 1.5-<1.8 kg, suspected sepsis was reduced by 24%; RR 0.76 (CI 0.62, 0.93). Suspected sepsis rates were lower in intervention group than in the control group across all sites. Sepsis related mortality was 37% less in intervention group than the control group; RR 0.63 (CI 0.47-0.85) which was statistically significant. The intervention group had fewer cases of Gram-negative isolates (n = 9) than Gram positive isolates (n = 16). The control group had more cases of Gram-negative isolates (n = 18) than Gram positive (n = 12).
UNASSIGNED: Immediate Kangaroo Mother care is an effective intervention to prevent neonatal sepsis and sepsis related mortality.
UNASSIGNED: The original trial was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through a grant to the World Health Organization (grant No. OPP1151718).

Low birth weight (LBW) is a significant public health concern given its association with early-life mortality and other adverse health consequences that can impact the entire life cycle. In many countries, accurate estimates of LBW prevalence are lacking due to inaccuracies in collection and gaps in available data. Our study aimed to determine LBW prevalence among facility-born infants in selected areas of Kenya and Tanzania and to assess whether the introduction of an intervention to improve the accuracy of birth weight measurement would result in a meaningfully different estimate of LBW prevalence than current practice.
We carried out a historically controlled intervention study in 22 health facilities in Kenya and three health facilities in Tanzania. The intervention included: provision of high-quality digital scales, training of nursing staff on accurate birth weight measurement, recording and scale calibration practices, and quality maintenance support that consisted of enhanced supervision and feedback (prospective arm). The historically controlled data were birth weights from the same facilities recorded in maternity registers for the same calendar months from the previous year measured using routine practices and manual scales. We calculated mean birth weight (95% confidence interval CI), mean difference in LBW prevalence, and respective risk ratio (95% CI) between study arms.
Between October 2019 and February 2020, we prospectively collected birth weights from 8441 newborns in Kenya and 4294 in Tanzania. Historical data were available from 9318 newborns in Kenya and 12,007 in Tanzania. In the prospective sample, the prevalence of LBW was 12.6% (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 10.9%-14.4%) in Kenya and 18.2% (12.2%-24.2%) in Tanzania. In the historical sample, the corresponding prevalence estimates were 7.8% (6.5%-9.2%) and 10.0% (8.6%-11.4%). Compared to the retrospective sample, the LBW prevalence in the prospective sample was 4.8% points (3.2%-6.4%) higher in Kenya and 8.2% points (2.3%-14.0%) higher in Tanzania, corresponding to a risk ratio of 1.61 (1.38-1.88) in Kenya and 1.81 (1.30-2.52) in Tanzania.
Routine birth weight records underestimate the risk of LBW among facility-born infants in Kenya and Tanzania. The quality of birth weight data can be improved by a simple intervention consisting of provision of digital scales and supportive training.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, there is a global progressive rise of chronic kidney disease. In parallel, children born after intra-uterine growth retardation are surviving to adult-life and beyond. This study describes the association of birthweight with and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).
METHODS: Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study participants were asked to complete a birthweight questionnaire. The associations between birthweight and eGFR were determined.
RESULTS: A total of 4502 reported information related to their birthweight, with the other responders did not provide a value. The birthweight of the participants ranged from 0.4 to 7.0 kg with a mean-(SD) of 3.37 (0.7) kg. The mean (95%CI) birthweight was lower for females, 3.28 (0.6) kg, when compared to males, 3.5 (0.7) kg. Eight percent had a birthweight less than 2.5 kg. The eGFR was strongly and positively associated with birthweight, with people in the lowest sex-specific birthweight-quintiles having the lowest mean eGFR. This relationship persisted with adjustment for confounding factors. The OR(CI) for eGFR <10th-percentile (<61.4 ml/min for females and <73.4 for males) for people in the lowest vs. the higher birthweight-quintile was 2.19 (95%CI 1.14-4.2) for females and 2.37 (1.1-5.3) for males, after adjustment for other factors.
CONCLUSIONS: Birthweight had a positive relationship with eGFR. Possible explanations include an association of birthweight with nephron-endowment. From a global health perspective but more in developing countries and in populations in epidemiologic transition, where substantially lower birthweights coexist with recently improved infant and adult survivals, the overall impact of this phenomenon on the population health profile could be more substantial.

The purpose of this study was to examine the association of birthweight with lipid profile in the general adult population. Participants in the second-wave of a nationally representative cross sectional AusDiab-study were asked to complete a birthweight questionnaire. Fasting total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, HDL-C, and triacylglycerol levels were modeled against birthweight. Four thousand five hundred and two people reported their birthweights, mean (SD) of 3.4(0.7) kg. Females with low birthweight-LBW had higher levels of TC, LDL-C, and triacylglycerols, but no difference in HDL-C, than those with normal-birthweight-NBW;≥2.5 kg. People with LBW showed a trend toward increased risk for high TC (≥5.5 mmol/L) compared to NBW. Among females with LBW, the risk for high LDL-C (≥3.5 mmol/L) was increased compared to those of NBW. The risk for low HDL-C (<0.9 mmol/L) was increased among males with LBW compared to those with NBW. Examination of the relationship on the continuum showed no differences except for high triacylglycerol levels among females with the lowest birthweight quintile compared to the higher birthweight quintile. However, the risk for various abnormalities by birthweight quintiles was similar to that when we used the traditional definition of LBW vs. NBW. Females and males with low birthweight differ in their risk for lipids abnormalities. Females had higher risk for high LDL-C, whereas males had high risk for low HDL-C (<0.9 mmol/L). In addition, females with low birthweight had the highest triacylglycerol levels. High LDL-C, low HDL-C, and high triacylglycerols are well-recognized risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Many studies have investigated associations between maternal residential exposures to air pollutants and low birth weight (LBW) in offspring. However, most studies focused on the criteria air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, CO, and Pb), and only a few studies examined the potential impact of other air pollutants on LBW. This study investigated associations between maternal residential exposure to industrial air emissions of 449 toxics release inventory (TRI) chemicals and LBW in offspring using a case-control study design based on a large dataset consisting of 94,106 LBW cases and 376,424 controls in Texas from 1996 to 2008. Maternal residential exposure to chemicals was estimated using a modified version of the emission-weighted proximity model (EWPM). The model takes into account reported quantities of annual air emission from industrial facilities and the distances between the locations of industrial facilities and maternal residence locations. Binary logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios measuring the association between maternal exposure to different TRI chemicals and LBW in offspring. Odds ratios were adjusted for child\'s sex, birth year, gestational length, maternal age, education, race/ethnicity, and public health region of maternal residence. Among the ten chemicals selected for a complete analysis, maternal residential exposures to five TRI chemicals were positively associated with LBW in offspring. These five chemicals include acetamide (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24, 4.20), p-phenylenediamine (aOR 1.63, 95% CI 1.18, 2.25), 2,2-dichloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane (aOR 1.41, 95% CI 1.20, 1.66), tributyltin methacrylate (aOR 1.20, 95% CI 1.06, 1.36), and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (aOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03, 1.20). These findings suggest that maternal residential proximity to industrial air emissions of some chemicals during pregnancy may be associated with LBW in offspring.

Low birth weight (LBW) is known to be associated with infant mortality and postnatal health complications. Previous studies revealed strong relationships between LBW rate and several socio-demographic factors, including ethnicity, maternal age, and family income. However, studies of association between LBW rate and environmental risk factors remain infrequent.
We retrieved a geo-referenced data set, containing 7216 individual records of children born in 2015 in the Haifa Bay Area in Israel. Using this dataset, we analysed factors affecting LBW prevalence by applying two alternative techniques: analysis of LBW rates in small census area (SCAs) and more recently developed double kernel density (DKD) relative risk (RR) estimates.
In the SCA models, LBW rate was found to be associated with proximity to petrochemical industries (B=-0.26, 95%CI=-0.30, -0.22), road density (B=0.05, 95%CI=0.02, 0.08), distance to the seashore (B=0.17, 95%CI=0.14, 0.22), PM2.5 (B=0.06, 95%CI=0.04, 0.09) and NOx (B=0.10, 95%CI=0.06, 0.13) exposure estimates. Although similar factors emerged in the DKD models as well, in most cases, the effects of these factors in the latter models were found to be stronger: proximity to petrochemical industries (B=-0.48, 95%CI= -0.51, -0.30), road density (B=0.05, 95%CI=0.02, 0.08), distance to the seashore (B=0.24, 95%CI=0.21, 0.27), PM2.5 (B=0.08, 95%CI=0.05, 0.10) and NOx (B=0.20, 95%CI=0.17, 0.23) exposure estimates. In addition, elevation above the sea level was found to be statistically significant in spatial dependence models estimated for both DKD and SCA rates (P < 0.01).
The analysis revealed an excess LBW rate in residential areas located close to petrochemical industries and a protective effect of seashore proximity and elevation above the sea level on the LBW rate. We attribute the latter finding to the moderating effect of elevated seashore locations on outdoor temperatures during the hot summer season.