Assessment of relationship between cross sectional area of umbilical cord and fetal weight in Ultrasonography

Abnormal fetal weight at birth is associated with increased risk of perinatal neonatal outcomes. Different techniques are used to assess fetal weight that the most modern is the use of ultrasonography. But this method also can cause weighing error of hundreds of grams in macrosomic fetuses. Therefore، this study was performed with aim to assess the relationship between the cross-sectional area of the umbilical cord and fetal weight through sonography. This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was performed on 200 pregnant women with gestational age of 17-40 weeks referred to Mashhad Aria and 22 Bahman Hospitals from September 2013 to 2014. The fetal weight was estimated based on biometric indexes by sonography and cross-sectional area of umbilical cord were measured for all pregnant women. Data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software (version 20)، and Statistica-10، linear regression and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. 107 pregnant women (53. 5%) were in second trimester of pregnancy. 126 cases of fetuses (63%) were in 30-50 weight percentile. The cross-sectional area of umbilical cord in 50 cases (25%) was 2 and in 48 (24%) was 150-200 mm2. There was a significant direct relationship between cross-sectional area of umbilical cord with fetal weight and weight percentile in both female and male during second trimester of pregnancy (P<0. 0001)، but this relationship was not significant in third trimester (P>0. 05). There was a significant relationship between cross-sectional area of umbilical cord with fetal weight in second trimester of pregnancy، so، it can be useful along with biometric indexes to more accurate estimation of fetal weight.