Observations on all births (23,970) in Birmingham, 1947. VI. Birth weight, duration of gestation, and survival related to sex.

Abstract

BIRTH WEIGHT AND DURATION OF GESTATION That mean birth weight is higher for males than for females has been consistently recorded (for example by Pearson, 1900; Murray, 1924; Martin, 1931; Bakwin and Bakwin, 1934; Anderson, Brown, and Lyon, 1943), and more recently by Karn and Penrose (1951), Norval, Kennedy, and Berkson (1951), and Salber and Bradshaw (1951). There have been fewer investigations of duration of gestation; but in general reported differences between the two sexes have been trivial (Schlichting, 1880; Siegel, 1921; Anderson, Brown and Lyon, 1943; Karn, 1947; Karn and Penrose, 1951). Table I gives mean birth weights of the Birmingham births as 7 57 and 7 31 lb.