GESTATION-SPECIFIC LIVE-BORN TWIN BIRTH WEIGHT, LENGTH AND HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE PERCENTILES AND CURVES ADAPTED FOR NORTH-WESTERN RUSSIA

Until now, national percentiles and curves for twins based on population registry data have not been published. It complicates the diagnosis of fetal growth retardation. In the article, the algorithms of birth weight, length and head circumference percentiles and curves for twins born alive at gestational age 32-40 weeks are described. We used data from the population-based Murmansk County Birth Registry (2006-2011) and the Arkhangelsk County Birth Registry (2012-2014), Russian Federation. Data on 1 567, 1 631 и 1 628 newborns were used to create birth weight, length and head circumference percentiles, respectively. Gestational-specific curves present data on 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles. Mean birth weight and head circumference in males were higher compared to corresponding parameters in females at any gestational age. At 32 weeks of pregnancy mean birth length in females was higher compared to length in males. In our current study, the database was comprehensive enough to be representative for the population. Conclusively, the results of the study will be valuable for clinical practice across other regions of the Russian federation.