Study of abdominal circumference proportions in fetuses with growth disorders.

OBJECTIVE

Abdominal circumference is the ultrasound parameter that best correlates with fetal growth. The purpose of this study was to assess whether its proportions change in cases of growth disorders.

METHODS

Using the abdominal protuberance ratio(APR) described in a previous paper, the abdominal circumference in fetuses affected by macrosomia and growth retardation was studied.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

In both cases, a major tendency to a normal APR was observed, revealing that abdominal circumference in macrosomic and growth-retarded fetuses changes as a whole, probably reflecting a global action of the factors participating in growth promotion or restriction. In cases of macrosomia, the minor slide to a high APR could reveal the specificity of the storage organs situated anteriorly in the abdomen. Otherwise, in cases of growth retardation, the slight tendency to a high APR would reveal a special reduction in the abdominal circumference in the posterior part of its surface, probably as a consequence of the flow redistribution mechanism.