The association between oligohydramnios and intrauterine growth retardation

Among 147 cases of suspected intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) identified based upon ultrasonic abdominal circumference below the tenth percentile, 56 were confirmed IUGR infants at birth and 91 were non-IUGR infants. Eight of 316 control fetuses with abdominal circumference above the tenth percentile turned out to be IUGR infants at birth. The incidence of oligohydramnios was strikingly different among the three groups: 29% for the IUGR group, 9% for the non-IUGR group, and 0.6% for the controls (P less than .001). When the criteria of abdominal circumference below the tenth percentile and presence of oligohydramnios were used together, the positive predictive value doubled (from 38.1 to 66.7%; P less than .01). Oligohydramnios developed some time after the somatic evidence of fetal growth retardation in all cases in this study. Finally, there were no significant differences between fetal growth retardation with or without oligohydramnios with respect to maternal risk factors or fetal outcome. We conclude that in fetal growth retardation, the occurrence of oligohydramnios during the third trimester of pregnancy is not associated with worse fetal outcome.