Judging fetal growth from body proportions at birth

Fetal growth velocity from 27 weeks until birth was calculated in 378 infants born after high risk pregnancies from at least three ultrasound measurements of estimated fetal weight and the weight at birth. Anthropometric measurements at birth (weight, head circumference, length, ponderal index and skinfolds), after correction for differences in gestational age, were significantly related to fetal growth velocity. The relation between fetal growth velocity and ponderal index was significant (correlation coefficient = 0.34, P < 0.001). However, the correlations between fetal growth velocity and each of the anthropometric measures disappeared when birth weight relative to gestational age was accounted for. This means that given the birth weight and the gestational age of a newborn infant, body proportions, e.g. ponderal index or skinfold thickness, do not contribute further to the judgment about fetal growth rate.