Estimation of foetal birth weight clinically and sonographically and its correlation with its actual birth weight: a prospective and comparative study

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of fetal weight in utero is vital for the obstetrician in deciding whether to deliver the fetus as well as in fixing the mode of delivery. Both low birth weight and excessive fetal weight at delivery are associated with increased risk of newborn complications during labor and the puerperium.  During the last decade, estimated fetal weight has been incorporated into the standard routine antepartum evaluation of high-risk pregnancies and deliveries. Objective of present study was to assess the fetal weight in term pregnancies by Clinical and Sonographic and to compare the methods after knowing the actual weight of the baby after birth.Methods: It is a prospective and comparative study of 200 women at term pregnancy at Sir T. Hospital, Bhavnagar, India from 2015 to 2016. Patients within 7 days from their Expected Date of Delivery were included in the study. The formulas used in this study are: Johnson's formula, Dare’s formula and Hadlock's formula using ultrasound.Results: Results vary in terms of accuracy with various methods employed for estimating the fetal weight. This study showed that Dare’s Formula was the best indicator among all other methods assessed followed by Hadlock's formula by ultrasonographic method.Conclusions: SFH measurement continues to be used in many countries on large scale because of its low cost, ease of use and need for little training as the setup for ultrasonographic evaluation is not readily available in rural setups.