Measurements were taken of the anterior fontanels of 258 fullterm newborn infants and 28, preterm infants (gestational period, 37 weeks or less) who were seen in the newborn nursery of Seoul National University Hospital in 1973. They were three to five days old at the time of the study.
The size of anterior fontanel was measured according to Elsasser´s method.
1) In the fullterm newborn infants, the mean anterior fontanel size was 2.5±0.9 cm.
2) In the low birth weight infants (less than 2. 5 kg), the mean anterior fontanel size was 1.7± 0.8 cm.
3) In the preterm infants, the mean anterior fontanel size, 1.60.8 cm, was 0.3 cm smaller than that of the fullterm infants. (p<0.05)
4) In the group that took vitamin A or D, during pregnancy, the mean anterior fontanel size, 1.8±0.7 cm, was 0.2 cm smaller than that, 2.0±0.9 cm that didn´t take vitamin A or D.
5) In the newborn infants of the multiparas, the mean anterior fontanel size, 1.80.8 cm, was 0.2 cm smaller than that, 2. 0±0.7 cm, of the primiparas. (P<0. 05).
6) In the newborn infants who had maternal complications during pregnancies, the mean anterior fontanel size was 2.8±0.7 cm.
|