Fetal Medicine Foundation charts for fetal growth in twins.

OBJECTIVE

To derive reference distributions of estimated fetal weight (EFW) in twins relative to singletons.

METHODS

Gestational-age- and chorionicity-specific reference distributions for singleton percentiles and EFW were fitted to data on 4391 twin pregnancies with two liveborn fetuses from four European centers, including 3323 dichorionic (DC) and 1068 monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twin pregnancies. Gestational age was derived using the larger of the two crown-rump length measurements obtained during the first trimester of pregnancy. EFW was obtained from ultrasound measurements of head circumference, abdominal circumference and femur length using the Hadlock formula. Singleton percentiles were obtained using the Fetal Medicine Foundation population weight charts for singleton pregnancies. Hierarchical models were fitted to singleton Z-scores with autoregressive terms for serial correlations within the same fetus and between twins from the same pregnancy. Separate models were fitted for DC and MCDA twins.

RESULTS

Fetuses from twin pregnancies tended to be smaller than singletons at the earliest gestational ages (16 weeks for MCDA and 20 weeks for DC twins). This was followed by a period of catch-up growth until around 24 weeks. After that, both DC and MCDA twins showed reduced growth. In DC twins, the EFW corresponding to the 50 percentile was at the 50 percentile of singleton pregnancies at 23 weeks, the 43 percentile at 28 weeks, the 32 percentile at 32 weeks and the 22 percentile at 36 weeks. In MCDA twins, the EFW corresponding to the 50 percentile was at the 36 percentile of singleton pregnancies at 24 weeks, the 29 percentile at 28 weeks, the 19 percentile at 32 weeks and the 12 percentile at 36 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS

In DC and, to a greater extent, MCDA twin pregnancies, fetal growth is reduced compared with that observed in singleton pregnancies. Furthermore, after 24 weeks, the divergence in growth trajectories between twin and singleton pregnancies becomes more pronounced as gestational age increases. © 2023 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.