Radiological assessement of fetal growth retardation

Ultrasonic screening to identify fetuses suffering from intrauterine placental insufficiency will diagnose this condition, but will also produce a large number of false positives. The fetal subcutaneous fat is visible on an antenatal radiograph and is severely reduced with fetal starvation. A method of quantifying the fetal fat is described and the results of this assessment are correlated with the birthweight and maturity at birth. The technique has proved useful in the assessment of suspected fetal starvation, where the diagnosis or its severity is in doubt on clinical assessment.