Determination of Accuracy of Fetal Weight Using Ultrasound and Clinical Fetal Weight Estimations in Calabar South, South Nigeria

Abstract

Information on fetal weight is of importance to obstetricians in the management of pregnancy and delivery. The objective of this study is to compare the accuracy of clinical and sonographic methods of predicting fetal weights at term. This prospective comparative study of 200 parturients was conducted at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar. The study participants were mothers with singleton term pregnancy admitted for delivery. The mean absolute percentage errors of both clinical and ultrasound methods were 11.16%±9.48 and 9.036%±7.61, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.205). The accuracy within 10% of actual birth weights was 69.5% and 72% for both clinical estimation of fetal weight and ultrasound, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.755). The accuracy of fetal weight estimation using Dare’s formula is comparable to ultrasound estimates for predicting birth weight at term.