ULTRASONOGRAPHIC MEASUREMENT OF PLACENTAL THICKNESS AS A PREDICTOR OF FETAL BIRTH WEIGHT

Abstract

Background: The human placenta develops with the principal function of providing nutrients and oxygen to the fetus. Objective: to determine the normal sonographically measured placental thickness in millimeters from 18 week onwards and to determine the correlation between measurement and estimated fetal weight. Patients and methods: This prospective observational study was conducted on 100 pregnant women aged between 18 and 35 years at Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Edfu General Hospital from October 2018 to January 2020. After Institutional Ethics Committee approval all recruited women were observed for baseline demographic and obstetric data including age, parity and past medical events at first antenatal visit. All women provided an informed written consent and underwent ultrasound evaluation of placental thickness at 18 to 40 weeks of gestation. Results: The mean placental thickness at 2nd trimester was 24.67±3.3 and mean Birth weight (g) was 3044.7±523.1 with range of (2200-4000). Conclusion: Placental thickness measured at the level of umbilical cord insertion can be used as an accurate sonographic indicator in the assessment of fetal weight because of its linear correlation.