Umbilical Artery Blood Flow Velocity Waveforms and Associations with Fetal Abnormality

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Abstract
Blood flow velocity waveforms from the umbilical artery of 126 normal fetuses with no evident complications at 20–42 weeks of gestation and 15 fetuses with various abnormalities at 25–42 weeks were recorded using pulsed Doppler ultrasound. The resistance index (RI) was assessed on each blood flow velocity waveform. In 9 fetuses with a slight abnormality, the values of RI were within the mean ± 2 SD of normal fetuses, and the outcome was good. In 3 of 6 fetuses with a serious abnormality, the values of the RI were high, and 2 of these fetuses died in utero within a few days after the recording. Another fetus with a high RI and 3 with a normal RI died neonatally. Therefore, Doppler ultrasound assessments of the umbilical artery blood flow velocity waveform in utero aid in predicting the outcome for fetuses with major abnormalities.

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