The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

Abstract

BackgroundPerinatal mortality and morbidity continue to be major global health challenges strongly associated with prematurity and reduced fetal growth, an issue of further interest given the mounting evidence that fetal growth in general is linked to degrees of risk of common noncommunicable diseases in adulthood. Against this background, WHO made it a high priority to provide the present fetal growth charts for estimated fetal weight (EFW) and common ultrasound biometric measurements intended for worldwide use.Methods and FindingsWe conducted a multinational prospective observational longitudinal study of fetal growth in low-risk singleton pregnancies of women of high or middle socioeconomic status and without known environmental constraints on fetal growth. Centers in ten countries (Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Norway, and Thailand) recruited participants who had reliable information on last menstrual period and gestational age confirmed by crown–rump length measured at 8–13 wk of gestation. Participants had anthropometric and nutritional assessments and seven scheduled ultrasound examinations during pregnancy. Fifty-two participants withdrew consent, and 1,387 participated in the study.At study entry, median maternal age was 28 y (interquartile range [IQR] 25–31), median height was 162 cm (IQR 157–168), median weight was 61 kg (IQR 55–68), 58% of the women were nulliparous, and median daily caloric intake was 1,840 cal (IQR 1,487–2,222).The median pregnancy duration was 39 wk (IQR 38–40) although there were significant differences between countries, the largest difference being 12 d (95% CI 8–16). The median birthweight was 3,300 g (IQR 2,980–3,615). There were differences in birthweight between countries, e.g., India had significantly smaller neonates than the other countries, even after adjusting for gestational age. Thirty-one women had a miscarriage, and three fetuses had intrauterine death.The 8,203 sets of ultrasound measurements were scrutinized for outliers and leverage points, and those measurements taken at 14 to 40 wk were selected for analysis. A total of 7,924 sets of ultrasound measurements were analyzed by quantile regression to establish longitudinal reference intervals for fetal head circumference, biparietal diameter, humerus length, abdominal circumference, femur length and its ratio with head circumference and with biparietal diameter, and EFW. There was asymmetric distribution of growth of EFW: a slightly wider distribution among the lower percentiles during early weeks shifted to a notably expanded distribution of the higher percentiles in late pregnancy.Male fetuses were larger than female fetuses as measured by EFW, but the disparity was smaller in the lower quantiles of the distribution (3.5%) and larger in the upper quantiles (4.5%). Maternal age and maternal height were associated with a positive effect on EFW, particularly in the lower tail of the distribution, of the order of 2% to 3% for each additional 10 y of age o...

A new customized fetal growth standard for African American women: the PRB/NICHD Detroit study

“…An additional 10 cm in maternal height increased birthweight by 78g, and an additional 10 kg of maternal weight were associated with a 25-g increase in birthweight. Such increments in maternal height and weight were chosen to enable comparison to a previous study 20 .…”

“…maternal height and weight, fetal sex) were graded among the centiles of weight distribution. For example, maternal weight had a higher effect on larger fetuses than on smaller fetuses 20 .…”

“…One issue is whether the same standard, referred to as “population-based,” should be used for all fetuses 16 , or whether the standard should be customized for physiologic and constitutional factors known to affect neonatal size at birth 17-19 as well as EFW 20, 21 .…”

“…By contrast, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) fetal growth studies 21 reported standards specific to four different ethnic-racial groups (non-Hispanic White, Hispanic, African American, and Asian) 21 , yet customization by factors other than race was not provided. Recently, a study sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) 20, 41 proposed a multi-ethnic growth standard customized only by fetal sex, despite the observation that other factors (e.g. country of origin, maternal age, height, and parity) had independent effects on EFW.…”

Svangerskapsdatering

“…Det har i de senere årene vaert en stor innsats på å utvikle internasjonale standarder for fosterdatering og biometri 14,15 . En slik innsats er naturligvis svaert interessant og av stor verdi spesielt for land som ikke har tilstrekkelig gode nasjonale data.…”