Prevalence of Intrauterine Growth Retardation on Antenatal Ultrasound Scan in Lahore, Pakistan

Fetal growth retardation is described as infants whose weights are much less than expected. Population based norms are used to categorize abnormal growths. The objective of the study was to determine the frequency of intrauterine growth retardation on antenatal ultrasound scan. It was an observational descriptive study conducted at the Radiology Department of Fatima Memorial Hospital, Shadman Lahore. Patients visited the Ultrasound Department for Obstetric scan. The study was conducted in 6 months from January to June in 2022. The sample size of 87 was calculated for study with expected rate of 9% of pregnancies resulted in intrauterine growth retardation at 5% level of significance at 5% margin of error. The study included pregnant females in third trimesters of pregnancy. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. A total of 87 obstetric ultrasounds were performed during the study period. The mean age of the patients was 28.69 ±4.46 years with age range 20-42. The 87 included patients showed mean gestational age 35.29 ±2.50 weeks. The mean biparietal diameter was 8.69±0.57 cm and abdominal circumference was 29.72±3.03 cm. The mean fetal body weight is 2.52±0.59 kg. The frequency of intrauterine growth retardation was 10.3%. Fetal biometry, biophysical profile and Doppler studies were helpful in the diagnosis of intrauterine growth retardation and evaluation of ultrasound parameters in third trimester.