An Attempt to Compare Clinical Methods and Sonological Estimation of Fetal Weight among Term Pregnant Women at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Bihar

Abstract

Introduction: Birth weight is the greatest single factor in the survival of fetus and important factor of neonatal problems. The objective of this study was to assess the fetal weight in term pregnancies by clinical methods and by ultrasound using Hadlock’s formula and to assess the accuracy of these methods when compared to neonatal weight. Material and Methods: A prospective cross-sectional hospital based study was conducted by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital, Laheriasri, Darbhanga, Bihar, India. The study was conducted over duration of eighteen months between July 2020 to November 2021. 150 women were recruited for the study, but only 121 completed the study. These patients who were selected from antenatal clinics and maternity wards had their last fetal weight estimation done within one week of delivery. The study was approved by institutional ethics committee. Detailed obstetric and menstrual history was taken. The duration of gestation was calculated according to Naegle’s rule or by first trimester scan report. Fetal weight was estimated by clinical methods and by ultrasound. Results: A total of 121 consecutive women were studied. Most of the women were between 21-30 years of age and primigravida. Post-delivery, the actual birth weight of babies was between the 1900 Grams to 4150 Grams. Mean birth weight (rounded off) was 2850 ± 623.8 Grams. Maximum babies were in range of 2501 -3000 gram, followed by 3001-3500 grams. Results of the correlation analysis showed that there is a significant relationship between estimated and actual birth weights for all the methods. Conclusion: Based on this finding, combining the different methods of fetal weight prediction to improve their overall accuracy may be possible.