Abdominal Circumference Measurement by Ultrasound To Estimate Gestational Age As An Alternative Method To Last Menstrual Period Date

Hisham Al-Hammami*

Department of obstetrics and gynecology, Syrian private university. Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic

ABSTRACT

This research aimed to determine the efficacy of Abdominal Circumference (AC) by ultrasound in estimating the Gestational Age (GA) compared to GA by Naegele’s rule using Last menstrual period (LMP) date. This was a prospective observational study of women with a normal spontaneously conceived viable singleton pregnancy, a regular menstrual cycles, and spontaneous onset of labor at term. The LMP was considered certain in all cases. We used ultrasound to scan 2067 fetuses (894 healthy women) and we had 1392 AC measurements. Data were collected prospectively and used for statistical analysis. We used Descriptive Statistics to calculate the Mean, Standard Deviation (SD), Median and Percentiles values (3rd, 5th, 10th, 50th, 90th, 95th, and 97th) for AC measurements on gestational age. We found a regression equation to estimate the GA using AC measurements. The results of the current study were compared with different studies using the Paired Differences (t-test analysis). In this study, we presented diagrams and tables for the estimation of GA using AC measurements in a group of pregnant Syrian women. These results can be useful in women who cannot recall their last menstrual period (LMP). Our criteria will provide useful references for estimating gestational age and fetal care. A larger study might be needed to include a larger sample of the population.

Keywords:

Obstetric complication, Malposition, gestational age, regression model, LMP method.>