Perinatal outcomes of pregnancies with borderline versus normal amniotic fluid index

Background: Amniotic fluid is an indicator of placental function on the fetal development. The amniotic fluid index is the most commonly used method of measuring amniotic fluid.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the pregnancy outcomes of a borderline versus normal AFI.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on a total of 235 pregnant women referred to Alzahra Medical Center between 2009-2011. Women with a singleton pregnancy in third trimester were enrolled into this study; of these subjects, 141 cases were in normal AFI group and 94 cases in borderline AFI group. Adequate information was obtained from the patients' medical record and the groups were compared on maternal and fetal complications. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS.
Results: The mean maternal age in borderline AFI group was 25.96±5.92 years and in normal AFI group was 27.88±6.5 years (p=0.023). Maternal outcomes such as preterm delivery and labor induction in women with borderline AFI were considerably higher than those in normal group (p=0.01 and p=0.001). There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of high blood pressure, preeclampsia, diabetes and neonatal respiratory distress. The borderline AFI group had higher rate of neonatal complications such as Apgar score of less than 7 (p=0.004), IUGR (0.0001), LBW (0.001), and crucial need to NICU (0.003).
Conclusion: Findings indicated that there are statistical differences between adverse outcomes in borderline AFI group and normal group.

Keywords
Borderline; Amniotic fluid index; Pregnancy outcome; Pregnancy complication