How to calculate abdominal circumference

Pregnant women need prenatal checkups during pregnancy, and there are some items that must be checked during the checkup, and they will be checked at every checkup, such as the pregnant woman's abdominal circumference. The doctor will measure the pregnant woman's abdominal circumference regularly to determine the frequency of the baby's growth in the body. Many pregnant women also measure their own abdominal circumference at home, but there will always be some differences between what they measure and what the doctor measures. So how is the abdominal circumference calculated?

The height of the pregnant mother's uterus and abdominal circumference are closely related to the size of the fetus. During the early and mid-pregnancy, there is a certain standard for monthly growth. It is necessary to know the length of each gestational week. In the later stages, by measuring the uterine height and abdominal circumference, the weight of the fetus can also be estimated. Therefore, during every prenatal check-up, the uterine height and abdominal circumference should be measured to estimate the intrauterine development of the fetus.

Between 20 and 24 weeks of pregnancy, the expectant mother's abdominal circumference grows at the fastest rate, but at 34 weeks of pregnancy, the growth rate of the expectant mother's uterine height and abdominal circumference begins to slow down. Excessive amniotic fluid in the pregnant mother's uterus or carrying multiple babies can cause the uterine height and abdominal circumference to grow too quickly. On the contrary, if the expectant mother's uterine height and abdominal circumference are much smaller than normal, it is necessary to determine whether the fetus is too small based on the expectant mother's body shape before pregnancy and uterine height and abdominal circumference. Starting from the 20th week of pregnancy, expectant mothers should measure the uterine height and abdominal circumference every four weeks; at the 28th week of pregnancy, the uterine height and abdominal circumference should be measured every two weeks; after the 36th week of pregnancy, the uterine height and abdominal circumference must be measured once a week. In order to observe whether the growth and development of the fetus is consistent with the normal growth and development speed of the gestational age, when the expectant mother goes to the hospital to measure the uterine height and abdominal circumference, she should record the measurement results in detail on the pregnancy test chart every time.

When expectant mothers measure their uterine height and abdominal circumference, in order to obtain more accurate results, they need to lie flat and let the doctor measure them with a standard ruler. Take the navel as the standard, circle the abdomen horizontally, and the value measured is the abdominal circumference.