ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to provide standards for the assessment of birthweight, head circumference and crown-heel length for normal, singleton newborns of predominantly West African descent. Data were collected for 10 482 or 94% of all recorded births in Jamaica during the two-month period September 1 to October 31, 1986. After editing procedures, data were available for 6178 (birthweight), 5975 (head circumference), and 5990 (crown-heel length). The data presented in tables and growth curves include birthweight, head circumference and crown-heel length for males and females separately, for gestational ages 30–43 weeks. Data sets from the University Hospital of the West Indies in 1990 and 1999 were used to explore the possibility of secular change over the period 1986–1999. In conclusion, these ethnic and gender-specific growth curves are based on the most extensive dataset currently available in Jamaica for babies of West African descent.