Birth weight reference percentiles by gestational age for Turkish twin neonates

Abstract

Aims: in clinical practice, birth weight reference percentiles for singletons are used to evaluate twin births. The utilization of singleton reference percentiles for twins is not appropriate as they experience different growth trajectories. However, Turkey still lacks such references. Our aim was to create gestational age-specific birth weight references for female and male Turkish twins. Materials and methods: this is a hospital-based, multi-centered, retrospective study. In total, 2544 live-born twins between 2010 and 2019 were included in the study. Gestational age, birth weight, mode of delivery, gender, birth order, chorionicity, maternal age, pregnancy resulting from assisted reproduction techniques, APGAR (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration) score at 5 minutes, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), length of stay in NICU, and death during the NICU stay were recorded. Results: smoothed reference curves for birth weight by gestational age and separate tables for female and male twin neonates for the 3rd, 10th, 50th, 90th, and 97th percentiles from 26 to 39 weeks of gestational age were constructed. Overall neonatal and infant mortality rates during NICU stay in our twin cohort were 12/1000 and 16/1000, respectively. Conclusion: twin-specific birth weight nomograms could be helpful as a reference for clinicians to identify high-risk neonates and fetuses who need specialized care. However, further studies with larger series are urgently needed for validation and use of these nomograms in clinical practice.