Medicine and Clinical Studies
Ultrasound measurements are often used to predict the birth weight of a newborn. However, there is some evidence to suggest that pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) is related to birth weight.11 A random sample of Caucasian pregnant women experiencing no complications was obtained. The BMI pre-pregnancy (x, in kg/m2 ) of each was measured, and the newborn weight (y, in grams) was also recorded.
a. Construct a scatter plot for these data.
b. Find the estimated regression line.
c. Estimate the expected weight of a newborn if the mother's pre-pregnancy BMI is 25 kg/m2.
d. If ultrasound is not available, do you believe that BMI is a good predictor of birth weight? Why or why not?