Maternal height as a predictor of vaginal delivery

Abstract

Short women with heights up to 150 cm are at risk of failing spontaneous vaginal delivery and should be referred to hospitals where labor could be closely monitored and cesarean section performed if necessary.

Factors Associated with Low Birth Weight Babies Delivered in Comprehensive Health Centre, Gindiri, North Central Nigeria

“…18 The haematocrit level was re-coded as anaemia (PCV less than 33%) and normal Haematocrit (PCV ≥ 33%) according to WHO criteria, 19 also the height of the mothers was re-coded as normal stature (155cm and above) and short stature (154cm and below). 17,20 The outcome variable, birth weight, was transformed from continuous variable to a binary variable using 2.5kg as the cut-off point. Babies weighing < 2.5kg at birth were coded as low birth weight while those that weight ≥ 2.5 kg were coded as normal birth weight and above babies.…”

Nutrition and obstructed labor

“…This is exemplified by the various cutoff points that have been identified in different studies as being associated with or predicting an increased risk of obstructed labor. For example, associations have been identified for heights ≤ 150-153 cm in Ghana (27,33), < 155 cm in Burkina Faso (29), < 156 cm in Denmark (34), ≤ 150 cm in Kenya (35), < 146 cm in Tanzania (36), and < 140 cm in India (37); cesarean deliveries were predicted by a height < 160 cm in Zimbabwe (38) and ≤ 157 cm in the United States (39).…”

Human fertility variation, size-related obstetrical performance and the evolution of sexual stature dimorphism

“…In addition, an impressive body of gynaecological literature has shown that short maternal stature is frequently associated with serious obstetric complications and often requires an operative delivery (e.g. Caesarean section or symphyseotomy; Camilleri 1981; Adadevoh et al 1989;Parsons et al 1989;Sokal et al 1991;Van Roosmalen & Brand 1992;Tsu 1992;Kwawukume et al 1993;Moller & Lindmark 1997). The correlation between maternal height and obstetrical outcome is so strong that female stature is currently used in most antenatal programmes (e.g.…”