Do Early Fetal Measurements and Nuchal Translucency Correlate With Term Birth Weight?

Objective: Traditionally, physiological variation in fetal weight is believed to emerge during the latter half of pregnancy. Although recent evidence suggests that crown-rump length (CRL) and nuchal translucency (NT) measured at 11-14 weeks correlate with abnormal fetal growth, findings have been limited by dating accuracy in spontaneous gestations. Therefore, we sought to determine whether CRL or NT measurements correlated with term birth weight (BW) or BW ratio in a cohort of IVF pregnancies, in which the date of conception is precisely known.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 227 term, singleton IVF pregnancies. Subjects were included if they had an early first-trimester ultrasound examination and subsequent nuchal translucency (NT) screening. The difference between the measured and the expected CRL and the biparietal diameter (BPD) and NT measurement were calculated and correlated with the actual term BW or BW ratio. The BW ratio was calculated using the actual BW and the expected BW for GA.

Results: The difference between measured and expected mid-first-trimester CRL, and the BPD at NT assessment, correlated with BW ratio at delivery (r = 0.15, P = 0.023 and r = 0.27, P < 0.001, respectively). Absolute NT measurements and NT percentiles (adjusted for CRL) correlated with BW ratio at delivery (r = 0.18, r = 0.14, and P = 0.005 and 0.038, respectively).

Conclusion: In this well-dated IVF population, we report a significant correlation between BW ratio and first-trimester CRL, BPD, and NT measurements. These findings support the hypothesis that physiological variation in BW can be reflected by variation in first-trimester fetal measurements.