DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2014.v02i01.0083

Pages: 395-398

The placenta is a fetal organ which provides the physiological link between pregnant woman and her fetus. The placenta is highly vascularized organ and its main functions are exchange of metabolic and gaseous products between maternal and fetal blood stream and production of hormones. The aim of this study was to investigate placenta thickness as parameter for estimating gestational age of fetus in normal singleton pregnancies among Sudanese women. This study was carried out at Khartoum state Sudan, in the period from 2009-2010. 110 cases of pregnant women in third trimester had been selected randomly by the technique of non probability sampling. The data was collected by designed clinical data collection sheets which containing all the variables of the study (Placenta thickness, FL, BPD, AC, Placenta grading). There were significant correlations between the placental thickness, Femur length and Bi-parietal diameter in which correlation coefficients are 0.85 and 0.80 respectively. The placental thickness is considered one of the parameters for estimating the GA in the third trimester.