Fetal Growth Assessment

Abstract

Small-for-gestational age (SGA) fetuses are at increased risk of perinatal death and handicap. These risks can be substantially reduced if cases of SGA are identified antenatally. Fetal biometry is routinely measured as a part of fetal wellbeing assessment during pregnancy. Serial assessment of symphysis–fundal height (SFH) is a cost effective method of screening for fetal growth. Although SFH assessment has been used for more than four decades there is a paucity of evidence of the optimum SFH measurement for Sri Lankans. Use of charts made elsewhere may either under- or overestimate the fetal size in our population. We have created and validated a new centile chart for fetal biometry, derived from a carefully designed prospective cross sectional study and now can be used in Sri Lankan pregnant women with normal BMI. Our results show that the 10th and 90th centile values for SFH at 40 weeks are 33 cm and 41 cm respectively. Furthermore, we have also found that birthweight reference curves adapted on the basis of WHO data for Sri Lanka fit our population. Newly made charts can now be readily used to assess the severity of growth problems in Sri Lankan babies.