Abstract

Background: Knowledge of fetal weight in utero is vital for the obstetrician in deciding whether or not to deliver the fetus as well as in fixing the mode of delivery. Both low birth weight and excessive fetal weight at delivery are associated with increased risk of newborn complications during labor and the puerperium. Various clinical formulae like Johnson’s formula & Dare’s formula are in use for fetal weight estimation.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the fetal weight in term pregnancies by various clinical methods- Dare’s formula & Johnson’s formula and to compare the methods after knowing the actual weight of the baby after birth.

Study Design: It is a prospective observational study of 227 women at term pregnancy at GMERS medical college & Hospital, sola, Ahmadabad from April 2014 to April 2016. The formulas used in this study are: Johnson’s formula and Dare’s formula. The measurements were compared with actual birth weight after the birth of baby.

Results: Results vary in terms of accuracy with various methods employed for estimating the fetal weight. This study showed that Dare’s formula was the best method for fetal birth weight estimation.

Conclusion: Dare’s formula is an inexpensive method for fetal birth weight estimation. It continues to be used in many countries on large scale because of its low cost, ease of use, and need for little training as the setup for ultra sonographic evaluation is not readily available in rural setups.

Keywords: Dare’s formula; Fetal birth weight; Johnson’s formula

Abbreviations: ABW: Actual Birth Weight; AG: Abdominal Girthp; ANOVA: Analysis Of Variance; BMI: Body Mass Index; BW : Birth Weight; EBW : Estimated Birth Weight; GA: Gestational Age; SFH: Symphysio Fundal Height; SD : Standard Deviation; USG : Ultrasonography