A CLINICAL STUDY OF FETOMATERNAL OUTCOME IN POSTDATED PREGNANCY

Abstract

The accepted normal duration of pregnancy is 266 days after ovulation. The timing of an ovulatory event may be estimated as occurring 14 days after the first day of the last menstrual period if cycles occur at 28-days interval.

Postdated pregnancy and Post maturity syndrome are not synonymous. Postdated pregnancy is defined as pregnancy extended beyond 40 week of gestation or 280 day.Post-term pregnancy is defined as pregnancy that has lasted at least 42 weeks (294 days) or the expected date of delivery (EDD) plus 14 days.

Stewart H. & Clifford described the Post maturity syndrome and advocated the adoption of a staging system to assess more severe clinical manifestations of placental dysfunction.

When determining gestational age, either by history and physical examination alone or in conjunction with an early pregnancy ultrasound examination, the incidence of a post-term pregnancy is higher or lower. As the precision of dating criteria rises, the incidence of postdatism decreases. The incidence of post-date pregnancy is between 3 and 17%.

When menstrual dating is the major criterion —- Incidence of postdated pregnancy is 8.8% is. When early ultrasound and menstrual dating are utilised, the incidence of postdated pregnancies is reduced by around 6.8 percent.

Sonography is most beneficial when we assess the crown-rump length in the first trimester as it is the most reliable measure. Menstrual recall, early palpation of uterine size, and Doppler auscultation of foetal heart sound are less reliable but useful procedures for determining the approximate date of birth.Compared to ultrasound dating, menstrual dating has a bias toward an overestimation of gestational age. Due to patient error in accurately recalling the time of her last menstrual period, it is also less accurate than ultrasound dating. The timing of ovulation and conception is also obscured by amenorrhea brought on by a recent abortion, stopping the pill, or breastfeeding.