Birth Weight, Gestational Age, and Pregnancy Outcome, With Special Reference to High Birth Weight-Low Gestational Age Infant

The distribution of birth weights at various gestational ages are presented for all single births occurring in Baltimore City in 1959, 1960, and 1961. These data are presented as pregnancy distributions or percentile curves for comparison with data of several other studies. In general, the frequency distribution of birth weights at any given gestational age spans a wide weight range. The neonatal, fetal, and perinatal mortality rates for various cell groups are presented. There is striking agreement between these data and those of a similar study from New York City. The clinical implications of these mortality rates and percentile curves are discussed.