“ASSESSMENT OF GESTATIONAL AGE BY NEW BALLARD'S SCORE AND ITS CORRELATION WITH FOOT LENGTH”

Abstract

BACKGROUND – Foot length has been studied by various authors as proxy measurement which can be measured easily in sick and preterm newborns. This study was done to nd the correlation of foot length with gestational age and other anthropometric measurements (birth weight, head circumference and crown heel length). AIMS AND OBJECTIVES1. To study the correlation of foot length and gestational age among the neonates. 2. To study the correlation between foot length and other variables (gestational age, birth weight, head circumference and crown heel length) among the newborns. 3. To study if foot length can be used as a proxy measurement to gestational age and birth weight assessment. MATERIAL: A study sample of 350 live newborns born at MMIMSR, Mullana, Ambala was selected by simple random sampling technique METHODS: Study sample of 350 newborns was selected by simple random sampling technique born at MMIMSR, Mullana, Ambala from April 2020 to May 2021. Babies with limb deformities were excluded from the study group. Babies were grouped into term, preterm and post-term and gestational age was assessed by New Ballard score. These three groups were categorized in to small for gestational age (SGA), appropriate for gestational age (AGA) and large for gestational age (LGA) using Fenton growth chart. Correlation of foot length with gestational age and other anthropometric parameters were statistically analysed by correlation and regression analysis. RESULTS- In the study, male newborns were 55.1% and female were 44.9%. Of the 350 newborns, preterms were 32.9%, terms were 65.4% and post-term 1.7%. In the study group, 30.8% were low birth weight babies, 63.4% had birth weight in the range of 2.5- 4 kg and 0.9% had birth weight >4 kg. The mean foot length was 7.301 cm with a range of 4.6-8.4 cms. Foot length correlated signicantly (p < 0.05) with crown heel length, birth weight, gestational age and head circumference in the neonates. Maximum correlation was observed with crown heel length (r = 0.916) which indicates strong positive association between them, followed by birth weight (r = 0.912), gestational age(r = 0.902) and head circumference (r = 0.875). CONCLUSION- Foot length is a easy and reliable anthropometric measurement to assess birth weight and gestational age in neonates, especially who are ill. Foot length can be reliably measured by peripheral heath care workers and could be used effectively for identifying and referring high risk newborns.