Perinatal events in the Dunedin City population 1967-1973.

The incidence of an array of maternal, obstetric and neonatal events occurring in the Dunedin City population in the six years from 1 August 1967 is presented. This population was not truly representative of the total New Zealand population. The total births in Dunedin City were 10,091 and the perinatal mortality was 17.5 per 1000 total births. Some of the pertinent findings were: 8.8 percent of the mothers were either not married or were not living with their husbands; 36.5 percent were primigravida; 13.2 percent of mothers were less than 20 years of age; 9.6 percent of mothers had an adverse past obstetric history; 11.5 percent had a diastolic blood pressure in excess of 90mmHg during the pregnancy; 5.0 percent had an antepartum haemorrhage of which 45.4 percent occurred in the first trimester; 6.5 percent of newborns were non-European; 2.0 percent were multiple births; 0.8 percent had a single umbilical artery; in 27.4 percent the delivery was not spontaneous; 6.2 percent had a low birth weight; 4.0 percent were born preterm; 5.2 percent of newborns experience neonatal complications; 2.1 percent had a major, and 6.4 percent a minor congenital fault.

Sex specific growth centiles at 28-42 weeks gestation New Zealand European infants.

Sex specific birth weight, length and head circumference centiles by gestational age from 28 to 42 weeks, were derived utilising a population of New Zealand born European singleton infants. Below 35 weeks gestation the values were less accurate because of the smaller numbers of babies available. Birth weight gestational age centiles derived from populations resident in the USA and UK were examined and compared with the New Zealand values. It was concluded that birth weight centiles by gestational age based on populations in North America and the UK were not optimal for New Zealand born babies.

The later growth of children who were preterm and small for gestational age.

The four-year-old growth status of 56 preterm, 35 small for gestational age, and 111 randomly selected appropriate weight for gestational age children who were born at the Queen Mary Hospital (Dunedin) in 1968, is described. Children who were preterm but were greater than 2500g at birth were significantly heavier, taller and had larger head circumference measures than the control group. Preterm children who had weighed less than 2500g at birth were significantly lighter than the controls. Children who were smaller for gestational age were significantly shorter and lighter than the control group. Other results were reported on relationships between gestational age and birth weight and the later growth status of children, and some implications were discussed.

Serial hexachlorophene blood levels in the premature infant.

The concentration of hexachlorophene was determined in serial blood samples taken from seven premature infants washed with pHisoHex. Results indicated that after a single wash with 5ml of pHisoHex, blood concentrations reached a maximum of 0.75-1.20mug/ml two to four days after application. The results obtained in this study confirm that the dermal absorption of hexachlorophene is greater in premature than in full-term infants. Use of hexachlorophene for infants. Use of hexachlorophene for infants of birth weight less than 2kg has now been discontinued at Queen Mary Hospital and the amount of pHisoHex used in the initial toileting of infants with birth weight more than 2kg has been limited to a single application of 5ml.

Breast feeding and some reasons for electing to wean the infant: a report from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Child Development Study.

Data are presented on the prevalence of breast feeding among 1037 Dunedin mothers who gave birth to infants between April 1972 and March 1973 and their reasons for weaning. Although breast feeding was becoming more common at that time, more than two-thirds of the mothers weaned their babies as a result of the difficulties they encountered. One of the most significant factors in lactation failure is the mismanagement of breast feeding by health professionals.

Neonatal at risk factors, visual defects and the preschool child: A report from the Queen Mary Hospital multidisciplinary child development study.

An experimental group of 142 children aged four years who had experienced neonatal at risk factors and a control group of 112 children whose perinatal histories were optimal had vision screening tests to detect defective vision or strabismus. Five (3.5 percent) in the at risk group and 10 (8.9 percent) in the control group (total 15, 5.9 percent) were found to have a visual defect. Of those, six had already been identified because of a manifest squint. Nine children with defective vision were first identified through the study. The importance of the early identification and treatment of visual disorders, particularly amblyopia, is emphasised, and recommendations are made for more widespread vision screening of preschool children.

Lack of long-term effect of the method of infant feeding on growth.

Although we have found that, at 7 years of age, children who were exclusively breast-fed in the first 3 months of life are significantly taller and slightly heavier than those exclusively formula-fed, correction for a variety of other familial factors can explain most of the differences. The breast-fed were longer at birth, had taller mothers, and came from families of higher socioeconomic status, although the last appears to act via maternal stature. There was no difference between the groups at age 7 in skeletal maturity, nor in fatness as measured by combined triceps plus subscapular fatfold. Apparent associations between the method of infant feeding and findings in later childhood must thus be interpreted with caution, since they may reflect differences between the characteristics of families choosing different methods of feeding rather than an effect of the feeding method itself.

The effect of maternal height on the fetal growth of New Zealand European singleton infants: 35-42 weeks' gestation.

Using a population of approximately 9,000 singleton deliveries collected over a 10-year period from a defined geographical area, the effect of maternal height on birthweight, length and head circumference was examined. Each 5 cm increase in maternal height accounted for an increase of 85g, 4.1 mm, and 1.5 mm respectively in these measurements in males; and 25g, 1.1 mm and 0.5 mm in females. When maternal height adjustments were used in conjunction with birth centile charts in the diagnosis of small-for-gestational-age infants, this condition was diagnosed less frequently where the mother was small, and more frequently when the mother was tall, than when the adjustment was not made. However, allowing for maternal height made no difference to the incidence of mortality or morbidity in small-for-gestational-age babies.