Anthropometric Measurements in Newborns: A Comparative Study of Infants Born to Mothers With and Without Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Cureus. 2023 Oct 30;15(10):e48012. doi: 10.7759/cureus.48012. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Abstract

Objective Fetal growth can be affected by maternal PCOS and may have an impact on offspring and childhood growth. The current findings across studies are divergent and controversial. This study aims to determine whether maternal PCOS can affect the physical measurements of newborns and to establish the differences in birth weight, length, head, and chest circumference between newborns of mothers with polycystic ovarian syndrome and those of mothers without polycystic ovarian syndrome. Methods In this study, we examined the gestational age, birth weight, length, head circumference, chest circumference, and ponderal index of 75 infants born to mothers with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and compared them to those of 94 infants born to mothers without PCOS. Result Compared with the other groups, the PCOS group does not show significant differences in anthropometric indices compared to the control group. Infants born to normal and PCOS mothers birth weight were categorized as SGA (small for gestational age) if birth weight was less than the 5th percentile. LGA is large for gestational age if birth weight is greater than the 90th percentile. Other appropriate for gestational age if infant birth weight is between> 5th and < 90th percentile. Significant differences in anthropometric indices like birth weight, head circumference, and Ponderal index were observed in SGA and LGA newborns of normal and PCOS mothers. Conclusion The study findings indicate that neonates born to mothers with PCOS have higher rates of SGA and LGA newborns, and differences in anthropometric indices (birth weight, head circumference, and Ponderal index) were observed between SGA and LGA newborns of PCOS mothers.

Keywords: anthropometric measurements; large for gestational age (lga); polycystic ovary syndrome (pcos); ponderal index; small for gestational age (sga).