Fetal growth standards for Somali population

• Published in: The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine 2021-08, Vol.34 (15), p.2440-2453
• Main Authors: Mustafa, Hiba J., Tessier, Katelyn M., Reagan, Lauren A., Luo, Xianghua, Contag, Stephen A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child; Female; Fetal Development; Fetal growth; Fetal Weight; Gestational Age; growth standards; Humans; Infant, Newborn; LOESS regression; Minnesota; Pregnancy; Reference Standards; Retrospective Studies; Somali ethnicity; Somalia; Ultrasonography, Prenatal
• ISSN: 1476-7058; 1476-4954
• DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2019.1667327

Accurate assessment of fetal size is essential in providing optimal prenatal care. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) study from 2015 demonstrated that estimated fetal weight (EFW) differed significantly by race/ethnicity after 20 weeks. There is a large Somali population residing in Minnesota, many of whom are cared for at our maternal fetal medicine practice at the University of Minnesota. Anecdotally, we noticed an increased proportion of small-for-gestational age diagnoses within this population. We sought to use our ultrasound data to create a reference standard specific for this population and compare to currently applied references. We aimed to model fetal growth standards within a healthy Somali population between 16 and 40 weeks gestation, and address possible differences in the growth patterns compared with standards for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Asian singleton fetuses published by the NICHD in the Fetal Growth Study. This is a retrospective cohort study using ultrasound data from 527 low risk pregnancies of Somali ethnicity at single tertiary care center between 2011 and 2017. A total of 1107 scans were identified for these pregnancies and maternal and obstetrical data were reviewed. Women 18-40 years of age with low-risk pregnancies and established dating consistent with first trimester ultrasound scan were included. Exclusion criteria were any maternal, fetal or obstetrical conditions known to affect fetal growth. Estimated fetal weight among Somali pregnancies differed significantly at some time points from the NICHD four ethnic groups, but generally the EFW graph curves crossed over at most time points between the study groups. At week 18, EFW was significantly larger than all other four ethnic groups (all p