Maternal left ventricular dimension in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth retardation
Article Abstract:
Early studies suggested that pregnant women with hearts that are smaller than average size had an increased risk of premature delivery. These women were also considered to be at higher risk for delivering infants who were small for their gestational age (SGA), or below average in growth. Pregnant women with smaller-sized hearts have been treated with bed rest, which reduces the incidence of premature birth. However, such women also tend to be smaller in overall size, have less blood volume, and have smaller babies compared with women of average size. During pregnancy, the cardiovascular system, which consists of the heart and blood vessels, must adapt to changes in circulation associated with pregnancy. Cardiovascular adaptations in women with smaller than average hearts may be responsible for low birth weight infants. Echocardiography, a diagnostic method in which sound waves are used to provide images of the heart, was used to assess the size and function of the heart of 42 women who were near the end of their pregnancy and who were suspected to be carrying fetus with growth retardation (delayed growth and development), and in 79 women with normal pregnancies. The size and function of the left heart ventricle were similar for both groups of women. These findings do not support a relationship between fetal growth retardation and abnormalities in heart size and function. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0029-7844
Year: 1991
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Defining altered fetal growth by second-trimester sonography
Article Abstract:
Current methods used to assess the growth of a fetus are inaccurate because of the lack of adequate measurement procedures and also the ambiguous definitions of growth retardation. Factors influencing the size of a fetus include genetic predisposition and socioeconomic conditions. Birth weight was predicted using data from one fetal ultrasound, the use of high frequency sound to visualize internal structures. Ultrasonographic imaging of the fetus was performed in 315 women with single fetuses between 18 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. The estimated weight of the fetus at the time of the ultrasound was used to predict how much the baby would weigh at birth. At delivery, the percent difference between the predicted birth weight and actual birth weight was used to establish whether the fetus was small-for-gestational-age (SGA), appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) or large-for-gestational-age (LGA). The method of assessing fetal growth based on one ultrasonographic image performed during the second trimester of pregnancy was feasible and accurate. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0029-7844
Year: 1990
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