# Evaluation of Anthropometric Measurements of 17,693 Newborns: Have Percentile Cut-Off Values Changed?

## TL;DR

This study evaluates newborn anthropometric measurements to determine if percentile cut-off values have changed compared to national and international standards.

## Contribution

The study provides updated regional growth curves for newborns and highlights discrepancies with international standards.

## Key findings

- Newborns in the study had higher average weight, length, and head circumference compared to Fenton growth charts.
- Regional growth curves differ from international standards, especially for preterm infants.
- Differences in SGA and LGA cut-off values suggest implications for diagnosis and follow-up.

## Abstract

Objective: The aim of our study was to develop current local anthropometric measurement percentiles for newborns and to compare these values with national and international growth chart percentiles. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated the birth records of 17,693 infants born between 24 and 42 weeks of gestation at the Health Sciences University Istanbul Training and Research Hospital between January 2018 and December 2023. The following data were collected from the birth records: type of delivery, gender, gestational week, birth weight, birth length, head circumference, and the nationality of the infants. Percentile charts for weight, length, and head circumference were generated according to gender and gestational week. The 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of the local anthropometric measurement percentiles were compared with the national and the international growth charts. Results: The anthropometric measurements of 17,693 newborns were evaluated in this study. Of the included infants, 9589 (54.2%) were born by normal spontaneous delivery and 8104 (45.8%) by cesarean section. A total of 4955 (28%) of the infants were preterm and 12,738 (72%) were term; 8700 (49.2%) were female and 8993 (50.8%) male. When compared by gender, it was observed that the birth weights of boys were higher than girls at all gestational weeks, but the lengths and head circumferences of both genders were similar. When our weight, length, and head circumference percentiles by gestational week were compared with the Fenton growth charts, we found that our babies had higher average values in all percentiles. When compared with national growth charts, the weight, length, and head circumference measurements of our girls and boys were higher, especially under 38 weeks, and they had similar anthropometric measurements from 38 weeks onwards. When compared with the Fenton growth chart, the ranges of difference from the current values used in each week of pregnancy for the SGA cut-off values for girls and boys were found to be 30–290 g and 30–230 g, respectively, and those for the LGA cut-off values for girls and boys were 80–300 g and 95–230 g, respectively. Conclusions: Our study reveals the current birth weight, length, and head circumference percentile values in infants, including a large number of infants in our region. Notably, the generated regional growth curves differ from existing international standards, which may have significant implications for the accurate diagnosis and follow-up of SGA and LGA infants. We suppose that our current national data can serve as a valuable reference for future multicenter studies involving larger populations and contribute to the optimal assessment of growth parameters in pediatric health surveillance.