# INTERGROWTH-21st Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study Study · id `maternal:intergrowth-21st-fgls` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `c7fb95f1d15a7d13` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Browse, life stage: Pregnancy Browse, care area: The baby before birth ## In plain language A study in eight countries that scanned the babies of healthy, low-risk women about every five weeks from 14 weeks of pregnancy until birth, to draw international charts of how a fetus grows. The authors recommend the charts as international standards for reading routine scans. ## Technical summary Multicentre, population-based, prospective longitudinal cohort (FGLS), part of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project, in geographically defined urban populations in eight countries. Five ultrasound measures (head circumference, biparietal diameter, occipitofrontal diameter, abdominal circumference and femur length) were modelled with fractional polynomials in a multilevel framework to give 3rd to 97th centile curves. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. One of three growth standards that do not agree (see the bottleneck page). Registry number not read. ## Key facts - Design: Multicentre, population-based, prospective longitudinal cohort. Ultrasound fetal measurements were taken prospectively from 14 weeks 0 days of gestation until birth, about every 5 weeks, in women with adequate health and nutritional status who were at low risk of intrauterine growth restriction. - Phase: Not reported - Enrolled: 4321 women (the analysis population: eligible women with pregnancies without major complications who delivered live singletons without congenital malformations) (analyzed count; International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project, snapshot `maternal:pubmed-25209488-2026-10-14`, retrieved 2026-10-14) - Started: Not reported - Primary completion: Not reported - Completion: Not reported - Countries: Not reported - Care setting: Not reported - Registry status: Not reported ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Fetuses of women at low risk of growth restriction, eight countries, 14 weeks to birth (INTERGROWTH-21st FGLS) Recipient: Fetal; Population: Fetuses of women with reliably dated singleton pregnancies, adequate health and nutritional status and low risk of intrauterine growth restriction. The analysis population was 4321 women with pregnancies without major complications who delivered live singletons without congenital malformations. The women are the people recruited; the fetuses are the people measured.; Care setting: Population-based antenatal care in geographically defined urban populations, where most health and nutritional needs of mothers were met; Geography: Eight countries (the abstract does not name them); Life stage: Pregnancy, from 14 weeks 0 days of gestation until birth; Gestational age: at least 14 weeks 0 days (98 days), measured at the time of measurement; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Ultrasound measurements about every 5 weeks (within 1 week either side) from 14 weeks to 42 weeks of gestation, and birth outcomes ### The INTERGROWTH-21st Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study took ultrasound measurements of fetuses from 14 weeks 0 days of gestation until birth in a population-based cohort in eight countries, among women with adequate health and nutrition who were at low risk of growth restriction. Of 13,108 women screened, 4607 were eligible, and 4321 (94% of those eligible) formed the analysis population. For five measures (head circumference, biparietal diameter, occipitofrontal diameter, abdominal circumference and femur length) the authors calculated the 3rd, 5th, 10th, 50th, 90th, 95th and 97th centile curves by gestational age, and they recommend them as international standards for fetal growth. - Category: Description - Evidence stage: Observational - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Fetal; Population: Fetuses of women with reliably dated singleton pregnancies, adequate health and nutritional status and low risk of intrauterine growth restriction. The analysis population was 4321 women with pregnancies without major complications who delivered live singletons without congenital malformations. The women are the people recruited; the fetuses are the people measured.; Care setting: Population-based antenatal care in geographically defined urban populations, where most health and nutritional needs of mothers were met; Geography: Eight countries (the abstract does not name them); Life stage: Pregnancy, from 14 weeks 0 days of gestation until birth; Gestational age: at least 14 weeks 0 days (98 days), measured at the time of measurement; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Ultrasound measurements about every 5 weeks (within 1 week either side) from 14 weeks to 42 weeks of gestation, and birth outcomes - Limitations: This describes how fetuses grew in a selected, low-risk cohort in urban populations where health and nutritional needs were mostly met. It is the authors' recommendation that the curves serve as standards everywhere, and later reviews and studies disagree about whether one standard fits all populations (see the growth standard disagreement page). The abstract does not name the eight countries. PubMed links a published erratum (Lancet 2014;384:1264, a Department of Error notice) that was not read: the record has no PubMed number I could find and the publisher page returned HTTP 403. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (PubMed abstract). Only the abstract was read. A published correction exists; whether it changes this claim is not known. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Source problem: a cited source is corrected. Check the sources before relying on this claim. - Sources: 1. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, METHODS, sentence 1, fragment 1 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 2. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, METHODS, sentence 2, fragment 1 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 3. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, METHODS, sentence 2, fragment 2 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 4. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, METHODS, sentence 4, fragment 1 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 5. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, METHODS, sentence 4, fragment 2 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 6. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, FINDINGS, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 7. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, FINDINGS, sentence 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 8. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, FINDINGS, sentence 5, fragment 1 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 9. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, FINDINGS, sentence 5, fragment 2 of 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 10. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, INTERPRETATION, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 11. Supports: International standards for fetal growth based on serial ultrasound measurements: the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, FUNDING, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:26Z. Source state: Corrected. Snapshot hash: 47e08d8d73ad449d414f5c7bf69c5f255a00b40f0281746fc26cfba949101078. How it applies: PubMed abstract. ## Connected pages - Builds international fetal growth standards: Fetal development (`maternal:fetal-development`) - Funder (PubMed abstract funding statement): Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (`maternal:gates-foundation`) ## Provenance Content hash: ef5ff2b60a781b60301c4e5dcca5bbcddec36eae9da33799933dc4db06a4dae6 Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14