ABSTRACT
Modern obstetric management must concentrate on applying appropriate investigations and treatment during the antenatal and perinatal period, in order to prevent fetal asphyxia and subsequent handicap. In fetuses suffering from asymmetrical growth retardation, where “brain sparing” commonly occurs, the fetal head size can remain within normal limits for a long time. In order to detect symmetrical growth retardation, serial scanning is necessary to observe the slow growth rate characteristic of this type of growth retardation, and an earlier diagnosis can be made if a dating ultrasound scan was performed in the first half of the pregnancy. The total uterine volume as measured by the parallel planimetric method and the prolate ellipsoid method has a significant relationship with reduced intrauterine growth and can be used as an alternative to other methods.
