Uterine volume as a predictor of birthweight

A method for estimating fetal birth weight was studied. The method was developed in the early 1950s by Polous and Langstadt. The method was based on the assumption that there was a close statistical correlation between the volume of the gravid uterus and the birth weight of the fetus. The method was developed from a study of twenty-one subjects and had never been studied independently. Birth weight was estimated in ten subjects using Polous and Langstadt's method. Various statistical tests and criteria based tests were used to test the accuracy of the method. It was found the Polous and Langstadt's method for estimating fetal birth weight is not sufficiently accurate to form a meaningful basis for clinical judgment related to birth weight. On the basis of these finding and a review of the literature, it was concluded that neither the method of Polous and Langstadt nor any other method for estimating fetal birth weight is superior abdominal palpation. Since the accuracy of abdominal palpation is know to increase with practice, it is recommended that nurse-midwives and other health care providers who attend laboring women should conscientiously practice this skill to assure that clinical judgments are based on the most accurate assessments possible