FETAL SIZE AND GROWTH IN BANGLADESHI PREGNANCIES

A longitudinal study of 20 uncomplicated pregnancies in Bangladeshi wo men was undertaken. Fetal growth was investigated by serial ultrasound scans performed between 26 and 38 weeks of pregnancy. Repeated measur ements of abdominal circumference and estimates of fetal weight were b est described by a log quadratic equation. The coefficients were not s ignificantly different from those obtained from a previously reported study of fetal growth in 67 uncomplicated pregnancies with healthy out comes in white Anglo-Saxon women. Further comparison between the two g roups showed that the mean abdominal circumference and estimates of fe tal weight of the Bangladeshi fetuses were smaller at 28, 32 and 36 we eks' gestation. These results suggest that, although Bangladeshi fetus es appear to be smaller than Anglo-Saxon fetuses, they grow at a simil ar rare during the third trimester.