Aim: To determine the relative influences of some maternal factors on skinfold thickness. The effects of age, parity, height, body mass index (BMI) and pregnancy weight gain (PWG) of the mother on the subscapular skinfold thickness (SST) of the newborn were estimated, and compared with their effects on birthweight (BW), crown‐heel length (CHL) and head circumference (HC). Methods: A sample of 13, 972 healthy, term singletons was selected at the Clamart Maternity Hospital (France). Stepwise regressions were used to determine the most predictive maternal factors for each parameter in the newborn. The respective effects of the mother's age and parity on each newborn dimension were tested by analysis of variance. Results: The SST is a singular parameter, influenced by the mother's BMI and PWG, but not by her height. In contrast, the main predictor of BW, CHL and HC is the height of the mother, and to a lesser extent her PWG and BMI. Parity and maternal age have a smaller effect, except on SST, and essentially between the first and second pregnancies. Conclusion: These results clearly separate SST from other newborn dimensions. The skinfold thickness depends only on the nutritional status of the mother, while other dimensions are markedly influenced by the genetic background. This study is the first to demonstrate the singularity of skinfold thickness in newborn infants as a marker of the mother's nutritional status.

In this study, fetal growth velocities of the body weight, crown-heel length, crown-rump length and head circumference were established from 478 normal fetuses and neonates, aged 8–41 gestational weeks. The growth rates were computed by time intervals, and the velocity curves were plotted with their 95% confidence intervals. The body weight displayed an accelerating pattern of growth until 34–35 weeks and a breakdown of the growth rate afterwards, as we already observed for the brain weight in another study published in Biology of the Neonate. Decreasing patterns of growth velocity throughout pregnancy were observed for the crown-heel and the crown-rump lengths, with a marked fall at 35 weeks. The growth velocity curve of the head circumference is also decreasing, but in a more irregular way. A curious revival of growth velocity was observed in most parameters at about 38 weeks. These changes in the growth rhythm were similar to those found previously with ultrasound data.