Large for gestational age infant (LGA)
Introduction
An infant weighing 4000 g or more at term.
Etiology
- habitus (tall and heavier women have larger babies)
- maternal obesity
- maternal diabetes
- rare macrosomic syndromes (Beckwidth — Wiedemann syndrome etc.)
Clinical signs
Potential complications
- cephalopelvic disproportion and shoulder dystocia
in vaginal delivery
- increased incidence of birth injuries (skeletal
system, peripheral nerves) and birth asphyxia as a result
of difficult extraction
- cesarean delivery may be necessary
- diabetic fetopathy — problems of macrosomia and
relative organ immaturity, see the section
Diabetes mellitus and pregnancy