A Comparison of Serial Cephalometry and Maternal Urinary Oestrogen Excretion in Assessing Fetal Prognosis

Summary: Serial ultrasonic cephalometry and maternal 24‐hour urinary oestrogen assays were performed on 400 patients who were considered on clinical grounds to be at risk of having a small‐for‐dates fetus. It was found that serial cephalometry was a better indicator of fetal well‐being than urinary oestrogen assays. Serial cephalometry enabled dysmaturity to be predicted in 90% of patients, compared with 70% by serial oestrogen assays. The false positive and false negative diagnoses using serial cephalometry were 12% and 10%, respectively, compared with 22% and 30%, using oestrogen assays. It was also noted that serial cephalometry was significantly better than oestrogen assays in predicting perinatal asphyxia.