Evaluation of the Prevalence of Macrosomia and the Maternal Risk Factors

Background: macrosomia is a term used to describe newborns with a birth weight of 4,000 g or above. fetal macrosomia increases the risk of perinatal mortality and morbidity. clavicular fracture, brachial plexus injuries, and hypoglycemia are the important side‐effects of this condition. infant sex and maternal factors including age, body mass index (bmi), height, weight gain during pregnancy, prior history of diabetes, macrocosmic delivery, gestational age, and parity are among factors associated with macrosomia. the purpose of this cross‐sectional study was to evaluate the prevalence of macrosomia and the associated risk factors in asalian hospital of khorramabad during july‐ september 2010. methods: data were collected using a questionnaire containing 10 variables as the risk factors for macrosomia. the gathered data were analyzed, using spss version 16. results: overall, 59 cases of macrosomia were reported among 500 live births. frequency of macrosomia was estimated at 11.8%. as the results indicated, 69.5% of the neonates were male and 30.5% were female. the maternal risk factors affecting the prevalence of macrosomia included maternal age at pregnancy, obesity (bmi≥30), weight gain more than 18 kg during pregnancy, prior history of diabetes mellitus, history of macrosomic birth, prolonged gestation, and multiparity (parity≥5). however, there was no significant relationship between mother's occupation and macrosomia. conclusion: as the results indicated, the prevalence of macrosomia was high in khorramabad city (11.8%). therefore, in order to prevent macrosomia, it is recommended that mothers over 35 years of age avoid pregnancy via contraceptive methods. in addition, maternal obesity should be prevented before pregnancy by suitable diets, and blood glucose monitoring should be performed during pregnancy via insulin therapy.