BACKGROUND The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and WHO (World Health Organization) define a pregnancy continuing two weeks beyond expected date of delivery as post term pregnancy. Any pregnancy which has passed beyond the expected delivery date is defined as prolonged or post-dated pregnancy. Application of Doppler ultrasound allows for examination of blood flow direction, velocity and volume of various vessels. Doppler velocimetry of umbilical artery in post-dated pregnancy has been suggested as a means of assessing fetal wellbeing. In prolonged pregnancy, the first step of management is an accurate diagnosis and antenatal care includes accurate dating of pregnancy, fetal surveillance and the option of induction of labour or expectant management or Caesarean section. We wanted to analyse the blood flow in umbilical artery using Doppler ultrasound in post-dated pregnancy and analyse the perinatal outcome in post-dated pregnancies with respect to normal and abnormal doppler wave forms. METHODS This is a prospective study conducted at Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Government Victoria Hospital (GVH), Visakhapatnam, from April 2016 to April 2017. 110 pregnant women who were beyond the expected date of delivery (EDD) according to menstrual history and early weeks scan were selected from the antenatal ward and labour room. RESULTS In the present study, 52.73 % women with prolonged pregnancy were primi gravida and 67.27 % women were between the gestational ages of 40 - 41 weeks. Doppler studies were abnormal in 13.64 % (15 women). 78.1 % women with prolonged pregnancy had normal vaginal delivery, Caesarean section was done in 17.3 % and 4.6 % had instrumental delivery. 99.09 % of babies were live born and one was stillborn. Two babies died in early neonatal period due to meconium aspiration. CONCLUSIONS Doppler study of umbilical arteries is a useful noninvasive procedure to reduce the perinatal morbidity and mortality in prolonged pregnancy. KEY WORDS Antepartum Fetal Surveillance, Birth Asphyxia, Doppler Study, Intrauterine Death, Perinatal Outcome, Prolonged Pregnancy, Pulsatility Index, Resistance Index
Doppler Ultrasound Study of Umbilical Artery in Clinically Suspected IUGR Pregnancies
