Abstract

Individual placental and umbilical cord morphometry (the study of form, encompassing size and shape) have been shown to have an association with fetal growth. We aimed to identify what combination of morphometric measurements are associated with pregnancies with growth restricted infants using digital imaging of the placenta after delivery. We examined 1005 placentas from singleton pregnancies in a large maternity hospital. 141 (14%) infants were growth restricted. The measurements most strongly associated with growth restricted infants were placental weight and placental surface area. Of the potential antenatal morphometric measurements, umbilical cord diameters of either end of the cord were most strongly associated with growth restriction. An analysis comparing these measurements with maternal age, smoking status, current history of high blood pressure in pregnancy, umbilical cord length, placental weight, birthweight-to-placental weight ratio and umbilical cord diameter (placental end) were not very sensitive and had a false-positive rate of 2% for the classification of infants as growth restricted. Placental and umbilical cord morphometry measured at delivery are different between growth restricted and non-growth restricted infants. Further studies are needed to investigate the possibility of using ultrasound to measure placental and umbilical cord morphometry during pregnancy.