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Article: A simple clinical formula for predicting fetal weight in labour at term--derivation and validation.(Original Articles)(Report)
- Article from:
- South African Medical Journal
- Article date:
- June 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 South African Medical Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Clinicians frequently estimate fetal weight when examining women in labour at term. This may help in predicting cephalopelvic disproportion when labour progress is poor, (1) or give early warning of possible shoulder dystocia. (2) In experienced hands, intrapartum clinical estimates of birth weight for term infants are at least as good as ultrasound-based predictions, being correct to within 10% of the birth weight in 55-72% of estimations. (3-10) A more objective estimate of fetal weight may be offered by measurement of symphysis-fundal height (SFH) using a tape measure. (11-13) This requires minimal experience, relying only on identifying the upper edge of the pubic ...