Parental recall of birth weight: how accurate is it?

Objective-To assess the accuracy of parental recall of birth weight in a Br itish population and to investigate whether social class and age of the chi ld significantly influence the accuracy of recalled birth weight. Methods-A questionnaire was given to parents whose children were participat ing in a blood pressure study and the hospital records were retrieved to ch eck the birth weight data. Results-At the time of the study, the children (n = 649) ranged in age from 6 to 15 years. Seventy five per cent of the recalled birth weights were wi thin 50 g of that recorded in the hospital records. No significant associat ions were found between the difference in birth weights (recalled birth wei ght minus hospital record) and social class of the parents or age of the ch ild at time of data collection. Conclusion-This large study shows that parental recall of birth weight is g ood across the social classes and up to 16 years after delivery. There was no evidence of systematic bias, which would prejudice results of studies on the relation of birth weight to adult hypertension.