Assessment of symphysio-fundal height (SFH) and its implication during antenatal period
Keywords:
Symphysio fundal height, Gestational age, Fetal growth restrictionAbstract
Background: The aim of antenatal care is to ensure that every pregnancy is given the maximum chance to culminate in the delivery of a healthy baby without impairing the health of the mother. Symphysio fundal height (SFH) is an essential part of examination of pregnant women. In this study we discuss various formulas and USG for determining gestational age and applying them on our population.
Methods: This is a prospective observational study done at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dhiraj General Hospital from January 2012 to January 2013. Total of 1056 eligible women were enrolled for the study.
Results: According to our study, gestational age calculated by Mac Donald's formula and USG based on Tokyo & Osaka charts were more near to gestational age calculated by LMP. The gestational age calculated by USG based on European charts coincided with gestational age calculated by LMP up to 32 weeks, but after 32 weeks it did not correlate with LMP.
Conclusion: In our population most of deliveries occur at home and primary centers, where facility for USG is not available. Hence application of Mac Donald's formula for calculating gestational age from SFH is a better option for detection of abnormal growth.
References
Morse K, Williams A, Gardosi J. Fetal growth screening by fundal height measurement. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2009 Dec;23(6):809-18.
Jelks A, Cifuentes R, Ross MG. Clinician bias in fundal height measurement. Obstet Gynecol. 2007 Oct;110(4):892-9.
Gardosi J, Francis A. Controlled trial of fundal height measurement plotted on customized antenatal growth charts. BJOG. 1999;106(4):309–17.
Bergman E, Axelsson O, Kieler H, Sonesson C, Petzold M. Relative growth estimated from self-administered symphysis fundal measurements. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2011 Feb;90(2):179-85.
Robert Peter J, Ho JJ, Valliapan J, Sivasangari S. Symphysial fundal height (SFH) measurement in pregnancy for detecting abnormal fetal growth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 Jul 11;7:CD008136.
Resnik R. Intrauterine growth restriction. Obstet Gynecol. 2002;99:490-6.
