Patrones de peso al nacer en Venezuela: influencia de la edad materna y la paridad

objective: to validate several birth-weight-for-gestation-age charts, including those derived from national studies. methods: analytic, cross-sectional study. the validation was based on a sample of 16434 newborns (2000 - 2004), which were classified by gestational age and birth according to each chart. analyses were based on the percentile distribution (< 10°, 10 - 90°, >90°), by comparing the observed and predicted frequencies by the x2 test. setting: universidad centroccidental "lisandro alvarado" / hospital central universitario "antonio maría pineda" results: the resulting classifications were very similar, although the categorization seemed slightly better when using battaglia and lubchenco charts. there were notable differences related to maternal age and parity, quantitatively similar to those attributable to the gender of the newborn. conclusion: it seems advisable to maintain the use of battaglia and lubchenco charts as the basis for classification of newborns, at least until a new and better set of national charts become available.