large for gestational age, LGA

"Large for gestational age." This refers to a baby who is heavier than two standard deviatons above the mean (greater than 90th percentile) for normal newborns of his or her gestational age and sex (males are slightly heavier at birth than females, on average). We are concerned about LGA babies because many of them are infants of diabetic mothers (IDM) and are at risk for potentially serious hypoglycemia in the first few hours after birth.

Other problems associated with LGA babies are of course possible birth injury, notably fracture of the clavicle, Caesarian section delivery, and jaundice aggravated by the high red blood cell count often seen in this condition.

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