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Clitoral size in term newborns in Kumasi, Ghana Asafo-Agyei, Serwah B; Ameyaw, Emmanuel; Chanoine, Jean-Pierre; Zacharin, Margaret; Nguah, Samuel B

Abstract

Background: Data on normative clitoral sizes in newborns is relatively sparse and racial/ethnic differences have also been reported. This study was performed to establish norms for clitoral size in term Ghanaian female newborns. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of all apparently well full-term newborns of postnatal age < 48 h and birth weight between 2.5 and 4.0 kg delivered at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital between May and September, 2014. Anthropometric and genital parameters were documented for study subjects as well as parental socio-demographic indices. Results: In 612 newborn females studied, the mean (±SD) clitoral length (MCL) and the mean (±SD) clitoral width (MCW) were 4.13 ± 1.6 mm and 4.21 ± 1.1 mm, respectively. MCL was inversely related to birth weight (r = −0.62; p < 0.001) while MCW was inversely related to both gestational age (r = −0.1; p = 0.02) and birth weight (r = −0.54; p < 0.001). Babies with a clitoris that was completely covered by the labia majora had relatively lower clitoral sizes (p < 0.001) than those who had a partially covered or prominent clitoris. Neither MCL nor MCW differed significantly by birth length or maternal tribe. Conclusions: Clitoral size varies with birth weight and gestational age. Babies with a completely covered clitoris are unlikely to warrant detailed clitoral measurements for clitoromegaly.

Item Metadata

Title
Clitoral size in term newborns in Kumasi, Ghana
Creator
Asafo-Agyei, Serwah B; Ameyaw, Emmanuel; Chanoine, Jean-Pierre; Zacharin, Margaret; Nguah, Samuel B
Contributor
Children's Hospital (Vancouver, B.C.). Endocrinology and Diabetes Unit
Publisher
BioMed Central
Date Issued
2017-06-06
Description
Background: Data on normative clitoral sizes in newborns is relatively sparse and racial/ethnic differences have also been reported. This study was performed to establish norms for clitoral size in term Ghanaian female newborns. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of all apparently well full-term newborns of postnatal age < 48 h and birth weight between 2.5 and 4.0 kg delivered at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital between May and September, 2014. Anthropometric and genital parameters were documented for study subjects as well as parental socio-demographic indices. Results: In 612 newborn females studied, the mean (±SD) clitoral length (MCL) and the mean (±SD) clitoral width (MCW) were 4.13 ± 1.6 mm and 4.21 ± 1.1 mm, respectively. MCL was inversely related to birth weight (r = −0.62; p < 0.001) while MCW was inversely related to both gestational age (r = −0.1; p = 0.02) and birth weight (r = −0.54; p < 0.001). Babies with a clitoris that was completely covered by the labia majora had relatively lower clitoral sizes (p < 0.001) than those who had a partially covered or prominent clitoris. Neither MCL nor MCW differed significantly by birth length or maternal tribe. Conclusions: Clitoral size varies with birth weight and gestational age. Babies with a completely covered clitoris are unlikely to warrant detailed clitoral measurements for clitoromegaly.
Subject
Clitoral length; Clitoral width; Clitoral size; Newborns; Clitoromegaly
Geographic Location
Kumasi (Ghana)
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2018-05-29
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
DOI
10.14288/1.0367870
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/66171
Affiliation
Other UBC; Non UBC
Citation
International Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology. 2017 Jun 06;2017(1):6
Publisher DOI
10.1186/s13633-017-0045-y
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
The Author(s).
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)