Amniotic Fluid Index and Perinatal outcome in term pregnancy in Dhulikhel hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Amniotic fluid index (AFI) is one of the parameter to assess fetal wellbeing. AFI is associated with perinatal morbidity and even mortality. Studies showing perinatal outcome of low AFI has not been done at Dhulikhel hospital so this study is conducted to find out the association of AFI with various adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnancies beyond 37 weeks.

Methods: This is a prospective, comparative study in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Dhulikhel Hospital from December 2016 to May 2017.  All the pregnant ladies at term pregnancy meeting the inclusion criteria were taken for the study. AFI was measured and the perinatal outcome was compared between two groups, i.e., AFI < 8 and >8.

Result: Out of 1084 pregnant ladies, there were 94 ladies in with AFI<8cm. Most of the ladies in the study groups were primigravida with the mean age being 24.25 + 4.8 years. There were 62% cesarean section in group1, most common indication of cesarean section was fetal distress and meconium stain liquor. 29.8% of newborns were admitted in neonatal intensive care unit for meconium aspiration syndrome.10.6% of babies was born with low birth weight. There were two neonatal deaths in both groups due to hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) - II. 

Conclusion: AFI < 8 is associated with increased cesarean section deliveries for fetal distress and low birth weight babies.

Keywords :Amniotic Fluid Index, Meconium staining, Cesarean delivery, APGAR scores