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RADIOLOGICAL MATURITY OF THE SMALL‐FOR‐DATES FETUS
Author(s) -
Croall J.,
Grech P.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1970.tb04402.x
Subject(s) - underweight , fetus , maturity (psychological) , medicine , percentile , ossification , radiological weapon , birth weight , obstetrics , pregnancy , biology , surgery , overweight , obesity , mathematics , psychology , developmental psychology , statistics , genetics
Summary The accuracy of intrauterine radiological estimates of maturity in 93 fetuses of low birth weight for dates has been assessed. Ossification delay sufficient to cause a high proportion of misleading underestimates of maturity occurred only in grossly underweight fetuses, viz. those who corrected birthweights were 200 g. or more below the fifth percentile of birthweights. In such cases, reliable X‐ray confirmation of maturity can only be obtained when a lower femoral epiphyseal centre is seen at 36 to 38 weeks. This happened in only one in three cases at 36 to 37 weeks, and in half the cases at 38 weeks.