Percentile ranks of sonar fetal abdominal circumference measurements

We present the percentile ranks of sonar fetal abdominal circumference (AC) measurements from 18 to 41 weeks' gestation. The ACs are derived from both longitudinal and cross-sectional ultrasonic studies of 200 low-risk pregnant women. The reproducibility of sonar AC falls within 2% of the mean value; this variation permits antenatal distinction of the fetus with a small AC (less than twenty-fifth percentil) from one with an average (twenty-fifth to seventy-fifth percentile) or large (greater than eightieth percentile) reading. The fetal AC measurements add another dimension to the interpretation of cephalic growth, particularly in identifying macrosomic fetuses as well as those who are either asymmetrically or symmetrically undergrown. Additionally fetal AC measurements are useful as adjuncts to the diagnosis of hydrocephalus by quantitating the difference between cephalic and body size. In the presence of fetal ascites the AC also can be used to assess the severity and progression of the abnormality.