PREDICTIVE VALUE OF CONDITIONAL CENTILE CHARTS FOR WEIGHT AND FUNDAL HEIGHT IN PREGNANCY IN DETECTING LIGHT FOR GESTATIONAL-AGE BIRTHS

Objective: To estimate the predictive value of weight and symphysis fu ndal height (SFH) in pregnancy to detect light for gestational age (Li GA) births. Study design: New conditional centile charts for longitudi nal monitoring of maternal weight and fundal height in pregnancy were developed based on the records of 676 women with singleton pregnancies and no complications. The records of these women and of a further sam ple of 102 women who had LiGA deliveries were used to assess the sensi tivity and specificity of the charts in detecting LiGA during pregnanc y. Results: Maternal weight is a poor predictor of LiGA births. Fundal height shows moderate predictive ability. The simple cross-sectional chart for fundal height al the 20th percentile cutoff has sensitivity and specificity of 66% in detecting LiGA births. Conclusions: Monitori ng via a cross-sectional chart of fundal height offers a potentially u seful screening method. The results of this study add support to argum ents that routine weighing in pregnancy should be abandoned. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.