I have a question. I do a little OB, in my small rural hospital, but I have a family member who is 34 weeks and experiencing low amniotic fluid. Her number is 4.5? Anyway, she is being followed very closely and having ultrasounds, NST's and I assume biophysical profiles biweekly. I really don't have much experience with low amniotic fluid, but googling it made me very scare...
Do any of you have any reassuring stories of patient's with low anmiotic fluid and good outcomes. Everything else looks ok except for his estimated weight.. about 3.5 pounds.
Personal experience is great, but is there any research on the accuracy of AFI/? It seems (i could be wrong) that this is one thing that has come into use without much study...
Now there are MANY more articles in medscape and other such sites you can access if you are willing to secure membership or pay for them. Not much is for free, but the information is out there for anyone willing to do some rudimentary research!
What the others have said about AFI (amniotic fluid index) is accurate. The ultrasonographer or physician measure the pockets of amniotic fluid in each of the four quadrants. There are "rules" like you can't measure a pocket with the cord in it. The person doing the AFI measures the depth of vertical pockets of fluid in each quadrant then sums the four measures. There is 10-15% variation between different examiners measures, however that decreases when oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid) is present.
Need to make sure you are drinking at least 2 quarts of fluids a day, preferably not caffeinated because of caffeine's natural diuretic effect. I'm sure your provider has you counting fetal movement. Three and a half lbs is not inappropriate for 34 weeks, and as another has said US are notriously inaccurate at gauging weight in later gestation. Sorry this is so clinical.
tinyscrafts
148 Posts
Personal experience is great, but is there any research on the accuracy of AFI/? It seems (i could be wrong) that this is one thing that has come into use without much study...