Anthropometric measurement of premature infants

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present anthropometric measurements on 42 premature infants nursed in the neonatal intensive care unit of Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach - Birth information, including maturity, age, gender, birth weight and present weight, were recorded. About 13 body size measurements, including stature, hand girth, armscye girth, chest girth, arm length, max girth, abdomen girth, hand length, thigh girth, shoulder width, head to nape length, inside leg to heel length and foot length, were measured for each infant. Using these data, the body size distribution, the correlation between each body size measurement, and linear regressions of present weight and stature with other body size measurement were analyzed. Findings - It was found that present weight and stature of premature infants were the most desirable and significant size parameters for the development of a measurement chart for premature infants. Originality/value - The paper provides anthropometric measurement details of premature infants.