Distribution of Birth Weights of Chinese and Indian Infants Born in Singapore: Birth Weight as an Index of Maturity

Haptoglobin and birth weight in a Bengalee population

“…The increased frequency of detectable HP types with age during the postnatal period was interpreted by Beckman and Grivea (1964) as due to individual variation in the attainment of the "biochemical maturity" (Hirschfeld and Lunell, 1962) required for synthesis of HP. The close relationship between detectable H P types and birth weight among newborns in the present study might be due to their biological maturity reflected in birth weight (Millis, 1958;Penrose, 1960;Banerjee, 1969). Since the liver, specifically some parenchymal zones (Alper, 1965;Keen and Jandle, 1965;Giblett, 1969), is recognized as having a significant role in the synthesis of HP, maturity status of the liver vis-a-vis the newborn itself, in all probability, might be involved in the variable synthesis of detectable H P in cord blood.…”

Birth weight, maternal age, and parity among the african population of uganda.

“…The mothers came from various ethnic groups as set out in Table I. The ratio of males to females for total births is 1 -12:1 and as in other African series this is higher than that seen in British babies (1 *06:1; Lowe and McKeown, 1951), Chinese (1 -06:1; Millis and You Poh Seng, 1954), Indians born in Singapore (1 05:1; Millis, 1959), and Indians born in Southern India (1 -04:1, Namboodiri and Balakrishnan, 1959). The means and standard deviations for birth weights, mother's age, and parity are set out in Table II (opposite).…”

Further evidence for a significant effect of fetal genes on variation in birth weight

“…Birth weight shows large variability within populations (McKeown & Gibson 1951, Millis 1959, Lubchenco et al 1963, Bjerkedal et al 1973). Significant deviations in birth weight from the population mean is associated with increased probability of perinatal death , Terrenato et al 1981.…”