Long-term prediction of birth weight

On the basis of the hypothesis that undisturbed individual growth in fetal life keeps a constant proportional difference with the standard population 50th percentile, birth weight can be predicted with a single sonographic exploration after the 16th week of pregnancy. Data on 135 singleton pregnancies with accurate dates and delivery at term were used. Sonography was performed between the 17th and 36th weeks of pregnancy, in every case at least 4 weeks before delivery. The observed measurements of BPD, FL, and AC were used for the prediction of their values on the day of delivery, applying the Hadlock equation for the estimation of birth weight. The mean error of birth weight predictions wa…