An investigation into the applicability of customised charts for the assessment of fetal growth in antenatal population at Blackburn, Lancashire, UK

Summary

The antenatal population at Blackburn, Lancashire, UK is diverse, with 35% non-Caucasian, mainly of Indo-Pakistani origin. The department currently uses standard growth charts, based on the Caucasian population for assessment of fetal growth. This study was designed to ascertain whether the use of customised growth charts (CGCs) in our antenatal population can improve the identification of true growth restriction and decrease the number of interventions for suspected growth restriction. CGCs were generated for 109 women induced for intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and fetal biometry plotted. The centile range on the CGC was compared with standard charts. Results showed that women of Indian and Pakistani origin were greatly over-represented in the study group. A total of 58% of the cases induced for IUGR had babies within the normal range on CGC. Had CGC been used 54.4% of growth scans and 53% of antenatal day unit (ADU) appointments for fetal monitoring would have been unnecessary. Our study shows that introduction of CGC in our practice could lead to a very significant reduction in interventions for suspected growth restriction.