BACKGROUNDAccurate measurement of gestational age is important for obstetric management. Ultrasound estimation of gestational age is the standard practice. Several biometric parameters can be used to calculate gestational age, commonest being biparietal diameter (BPD), abdominal circumference (AC) and femoral length (FL). In the present study, an additional parameter, the fetal renal length (KL), is taken as a biometric variable and the correlation between gestational age and renal length are calculated. AIMS-To find out the correlation between gestational age and kidney length, biparietal diameter, femoral length and abdominal circumference in the third trimester. To find out regression equations for these variables with gestational age and thus to predict gestational age. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study was done as a cross sectional study. This study was conducted among 100 low risk antenatal women, who attended the antenatal clinics of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. Statistical Analysis-The data collected in the study concerning biometry and gestational age is represented in graph form called scatter diagram. Depending on the alignment of the data, the correlation between the two is visualized. Then curve fitting is done using regression analysis and regression equation for calculating the dependent variable from independent variable is found out using linear regression analysis. The coefficient of correlation (R) and coefficient of determination (R 2 ) is then found out. The better the correlation the closer these coefficients will be to one. Root mean square deviation shows how accurate is the estimate. RESULTSThe average gestational age of the study population was 35.6 ± 2.81. When comparing the correlation, it was found that kidney length had the highest correlation followed by femoral length. Regression equations for calculating gestational age from the various biometrics were calculated. Correlation was greatest when combination of KL, BPD, AC, FL and AC was used. RMSD was least with KL. The prediction interval width was least for KL. CONCLUSIONKidney length can be used along with the usual biometric variables like BPD, AC and FL with better accuracy for predicting gestational age.

INTRODUCTIONMaternal cardiac diseases complicate 1% of all pregnancies and are responsible for about 15% of all maternal deaths. The incidence of cardiac disease during pregnancy has remained stable for many years since the significant decrease in the occurrence of rheumatic heart disease in the last few decades has been compensated by a significant increase of pregnancy in women with congenital heart disease. In developed countries, survival of newborns affected by congenital heart disease is about 85% in many cases as a result of complex surgical procedures performed in the first few years of life.1 As a result the cardiologists and obstetricians are today facing an increasingly large group of pregnant women with surgically corrected congenital abnormalities. As these women contemplate pregnancy, they seek counseling regarding maternal and fetal outcome. The obstetrician should have adequate information about cardiac diseases during pregnancy so that he/she can function effectively as a member of the team that will be taking care of the patient. Hemodynamics are altered during pregnancy in different stages: antenatal during labor and delivery, during caesarean section and during postpartum period. Hemodynamic adaptation to pregnancy persists postpartum and gradually returns to prepregnancy values ABSTRACT Background: Although the disease is limited to only 0.5 to 1.0 percent of pregnant women, it remains an important cause of maternal morbidity and even mortality and has a significant effect on fetal outcome. Pregnancy and the peripartum period are associated with important cardiocirculatory changes that can lead to marked clinical deterioration in the woman with heart disease. Objectives of present study were to comprehend the impact of heart disease during pregnancy, to study the maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies in women with heart disease, to identify predictors of pregnancy related complications in women with heart disease and to refine the risk stratification and to assess the individual risk of each pregnant woman with heart disease. Methods: It is a perspective study carried out at College Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Govt. Medical, Kottayam from January 2012 to March 2014. Results:The outcomes of the pregnancies in 100 women who presented with heart disease and received their obstetrical care were evaluated. A maternal cardiac event, neonatal event, or both occurred in 37 completed pregnancies. A cardiac event complicated 8 completed pregnancies. It includes 2 maternal deaths, one on 9th postnatal day in women with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and another in women with rheumatoid mitral stenosis who died of congestive cardiac failure. Most cardiac events (75%) occurred in the antepartum period and were either heart failure or cardiac arrhythmia. Conclusions: Strict prenatal care and early risk stratification during gestation are fundamental measures to improve the prognosis of pregnancy in women with heart disease.