Session Introduction
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:
- Describe the role of the abdominal diameter/circumference in documenting normal fetal growth
- Explain that poor growth may imply poor placental function or other abnormality
- Appreciate that in some babies the major sign of poor growth is a smaller than expected abdominal measurement, while in others both head and abdomen may be small
- Appreciate that a baby may be larger than expected for the gestational age and that this may simply reflect normal size differences between babies
- Identify both large and small babies and be able to perform accurate measurements to detect growth abnormalities
- Identify most of the babies where large size is indicative of an abnormality, particularly where either the head or abdomen is larger than the other
- Appreciate that amniotic fluid volume may alter in the presence of abnormalities of fetal size
