Ultrasound Assessment of Placental Thickness in The Last Two Trimesters of Normal Pregnancy and Its Relations with Fetal Outcome

Abstract

Background: Ultrasound measurements of placental thickness have been a straightforward, repeatable, and clinically beneficial method for over two decades. The placenta grows faster than the fetus in the 1st trimester.

Objective: To assess the correlation among fetal birth and placental weight, and placenta thickness through the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

Patients and Methods: 112 pregnant women who visited the outpatient clinic were part of the current cohort observational study  conducted at Damanhur Medical National Institute from September 2023 until February 2024. The concerned cases were separated into  three sub-groups according to the thoroughness of the placenta.

Results: Only 10.7% of the newborns of patients in the second trimester  with normal placental thickness were admissible to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after birth, compared to 58.3% of  cases in the thin placenta group and 81.25% in the thick placenta group. Only 11.6% of the newborn of third-trimester cases with normal  placental thickness were admitted to the NICU, in contrast to 40% of cases for thin placentas and 56.3% of cases for thick placentas. The  placenta's thickness in the 2nd trimester was significantly positively associated (p < 0.05) with the placental weight, Apgar score, and fetal  birth weight.

Conclusions: We concluded that measurement of placental characteristics should be a part of all standard prenatal ultrasounds since placenta thickness can be used in conjunction with other biometric markers to predict neonatal outcomes.