Fetal Macrosomia Among Non-diabetic Women: Our Experience in a Developing Country

Background The prevalence of fetal macrosomia varies worldwide. Its trend has increased over the past decades in many developed nations. It is associated with various maternal and fetal complications. The information regarding the frequency of fetal macrosomia among non-diabetic women is limited in resource-limited countries such as Pakistan. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the number of fetal macrosomia cases among non-diabetic women. Methodology This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. A total of 119 pregnant women were enrolled in the study. All pregnant women aged 15 to 45 years who had singleton pregnancies with any parity or gravida and a gestational age of ≥37 weeks were included in the study. Pregnant women with underlying chronic systemic disorders such as diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertension, renal or cardiac disorders, and sickle cell anemia were excluded from the study. Women who did not consent to participate and those with a gestational age of ≥42 weeks at the time of delivery were also excluded from our study. Based on a 5.2% prevalence of fetal macrosomia in the general population, the sample size was calculated using the World Health Organization calculator at a confidence interval of 95%, absolute precision of 0.05 with anticipated population proportion, and a 4% margin of error. The required sample size was calculated at 119. The chi-square test was applied. P-values of ≤0.05 were considered significant. Results Out of 119 participants, fetal macrosomia among non-diabetic women was seen in 10 (8.4%) cases. The mean age of patients in our study was 29.80 ± 4.33 years. The mean gestational age was 36.05 ± 1.31 weeks, whereas the mean body mass index of participants was 29.17 ± 2.36 kg/m². Post-stratification, spontaneous vaginal delivery was the only significant variable with a P-value of <0.05 in our study. Conclusions The number of fetal macrosomia among non-diabetic women in our study was 10 (8.4%). Because this was a single-center, hospital-based, cross-sectional study, we need to conduct large multi-centered randomized controlled studies to identify the actual prevalence of fetal macrosomia in non-diabetic women in our population.