Stretched penile length of healthy term neonates: Normative values among Igbo babies in Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Aim: To determine the normative values of stretched penile length in apparently healthy term Igbo newborn males in South eastern Nigeria and its relationship with gestational age, birth weight and birth length. Methods: Eight hundred and eleven apparently healthy term male neonates within the first 72 h of life were studied. Enrolled subjects were consecutively delivered babies of Igbo extraction from three hospitals. The stretched penile length was measured using Schonfeld method, and the smoothed centiles (3 rd to 97th percentile values) for stretched penile length by gestational age were determined. Results: The mean stretched penile length of term newborns was 3.46 ± 0.44 cm. The lower and upper limits (±2.5 SD) were 2.36-4.56 cm. Stretched penile length correlated positively with birth length and birth weight (r= 0.343, p= 0.001; r= 0.229, p= 0.001). Conclusion: This study has created the first smoothed percentile values for stretched penile length by gestational age for Igbo babies.