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WHO fetal growth charts study

A multi-country study, funded in part by the World Health Organization, that followed low-risk pregnancies of women in ten countries with seven scheduled ultrasound scans, to build fetal growth charts for use worldwide. The charts cover head, abdomen, thigh bone and arm bone measures and estimated fetal weight.

  • Study
  • In this atlas

Overview

Design
Multinational prospective observational longitudinal study of fetal growth in low-risk singleton pregnancies of women of high or middle socioeconomic status and without known environmental constraints on fetal growth. Participants had anthropometric and nutritional assessments and seven scheduled ultrasound examinations.
Phase
Not reported
Enrolled
  • 1,387 women (the abstract: 1,387 participated in the study after 52 withdrew consent) (unknown count) (The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight, retrieved )
Sponsor
Not recorded
Funder
Registry
Not reported
Started
Not reported
Primary completion
Not reported
Completion
Not reported
Countries
Argentina, Brazil, Congo - Kinshasa, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Norway, Thailand (The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight, retrieved )
Care setting
Not reported
Registry status
Not reported

Technical summary

Multinational prospective observational longitudinal study (PLoS Medicine 2017). 1,387 women took part; 7,924 sets of ultrasound measurements from 14 to 40 weeks were analysed by quantile regression. The authors report differences between countries (for example in birth weight) as well as pooled charts. One of three growth standards that do not agree (see the bottleneck page). Three published corrections were read and are summarised in the claim; they concern a figure and two tables, not the counts quoted. Only the abstract was read; the PMC full text of the original was not used.

Arms

Not reported

Findings

No findings are published for this study.

Claims and evidence

Context Fetuses of low-risk women of high or middle socioeconomic status, ten countries (WHO fetal growth charts study)

Recipient
Fetal
Population
Fetuses of women with low-risk singleton pregnancies, of high or middle socioeconomic status and without known environmental constraints on fetal growth, with reliable last menstrual period and gestational age confirmed by crown-rump length at 8 to 13 weeks. 1,387 women took part. The women are the people recruited; the fetuses are the people measured.
Care setting
Centres in ten countries (setting type not stated in the abstract)
Geography
Ten countries: Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Norway and Thailand
Life stage
Pregnancy; measurements taken at 14 to 40 weeks were selected for analysis
Gestational age
14 weeks 0 days (98 days) to 40 weeks 0 days (280 days), measured at the time of measurement
Postnatal age
Not reported
Follow-up
Seven scheduled ultrasound examinations during pregnancy; outcomes of pregnancy recorded
Eligibility: 3 inclusion criteria; 1 exclusion criterion
Included
  • Low-risk singleton pregnancy
  • High or middle socioeconomic status, without known environmental constraints on fetal growth
  • Reliable last menstrual period and gestational age confirmed by crown-rump length at 8 to 13 weeks
Excluded
  • Not stated in the parts of the source that were read.

  • Description Observational Certainty not assessed

    In a multinational prospective longitudinal study of fetal growth in low-risk singleton pregnancies, centres in ten countries (Argentina, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Norway and Thailand) followed women of high or middle socioeconomic status without known environmental constraints on fetal growth. 1,387 women took part. 7,924 sets of ultrasound measurements were analysed to give longitudinal reference intervals for fetal head circumference, biparietal diameter, humerus length, abdominal circumference, femur length and estimated fetal weight. The authors report that growth of estimated fetal weight was asymmetric (a slightly wider spread among the lower percentiles early, shifting to a notably wider spread among the higher percentiles late in pregnancy), and that there were significant differences in growth between countries and in birth weight (India had significantly smaller neonates than the other countries, even after adjusting for gestational age).

    Source problem. A cited source is corrected. Check the sources before relying on this claim.

    Applies to Fetal
    • Fetuses of women with low-risk singleton pregnancies, of high or middle socioeconomic status and without known environmental constraints on fetal growth, with reliable last menstrual period and gestational age confirmed by crown-rump length at 8 to 13 weeks. 1,387 women took part. The women are the people recruited; the fetuses are the people measured.
    • Centres in ten countries (setting type not stated in the abstract)
    • Ten countries: Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Norway and Thailand
    • Pregnancy; measurements taken at 14 to 40 weeks were selected for analysis
    • Gestational age 14 weeks 0 days to 40 weeks 0 days, measured at the time of measurement
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Seven scheduled ultrasound examinations during pregnancy; outcomes of pregnancy recorded
    Certainty method
    Not assessed
    Limitations
    The cohort is selected on low risk and socioeconomic status, so the charts describe growth under favourable conditions, not every pregnancy. The abstract reports differences between countries as well as pooled charts. Three published corrections exist (PMIDs 28339475, 29194459 and 33411728) and were read: one says a computational error affected Fig 1, Table 12 and Table 13 (the percentile figure and the femur-length ratio tables), one republishes that correction to fix an erroneous image, and one says the title and caption of Table 12 do not match its table. The counts, country list and descriptions cited here come from the abstract and are not those tables, but the abstract's remark on the spread of estimated fetal weight was not re-checked against the corrected Fig 1. Only the abstract was read.
    Last checked
    2026-10-14
    Next evidence check due
    Not scheduled
    Sources and citations (14)

    1. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 1, fragment 1 of 2
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      PubMed abstract.
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      Corrected
      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    2. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

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      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 1, fragment 2 of 2
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      PubMed abstract.
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      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    3. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 2, fragment 1 of 2
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      PubMed abstract.
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      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    4. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 2, fragment 2 of 2
      How it applies
      PubMed abstract.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
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      Source state
      Corrected
      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    5. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 4
      How it applies
      PubMed abstract.
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      Source effective date
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      Source state
      Corrected
      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    6. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 8
      How it applies
      PubMed abstract.
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      Corrected
      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    7. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 10, fragment 2 of 2
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      PubMed abstract.
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      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    8. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 11, fragment 1 of 2
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      PubMed abstract.
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      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    9. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 11, fragment 2 of 2
      How it applies
      PubMed abstract.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
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      Source state
      Corrected
      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    10. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 12, fragment 1 of 2
      How it applies
      PubMed abstract.
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      Source effective date
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      Source state
      Corrected
      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    11. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 12, fragment 2 of 2
      How it applies
      PubMed abstract.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Corrected
      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    12. Supports The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS medicine · 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. · Published 2017-01-24 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220 · PMID: 28118360

      Locator
      Abstract, METHODS AND FINDINGS, sentence 17
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      PubMed abstract.
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      Corrected
      Snapshot hash
      fef4f80ba7dca49a93b351cca22d726cff6c85571a2e50a63669751dfbff55c6
      Reuse basis
      PubMed record fetched through NCBI E-utilities. Only the hash of the bytes is kept, because publisher copyright may apply to the abstract (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disclaimer/). Short factual quotations under 25 words, with the citation.

    13. Background Correction: The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS Medicine · Edition PMC Open Access subset article (a published correction), full-text XML from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. · PMCID: PMC5365101 · PMID: 28339475 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002284

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      f0c26991cc2cc46aacb035c0e2f14c8bb9511f3cb073a3de02b7b390ef3e9c20
      Reuse basis
      PMC Open Access subset article under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The article's own <permissions> states the licence. The XML is committed unaltered, with the citation and licence kept in the file. The raw file is committed at research/snapshots/mf-pmc-PMC5365101.xml.

    14. Background Correction: The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight

      Publication · PLoS Medicine · Edition PMC Open Access subset article (a published correction), full-text XML from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. · PMCID: PMC7790295 · PMID: 33411728 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003526

      Locator
      Body, paragraph 1, sentence 1
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      Frames the population or setting. Source page.
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      Snapshot hash
      f66f3070c6c0f8bd52988026cb79915b8da949f687cd31888ea780a61ee89a5f
      Reuse basis
      PMC Open Access subset article under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The article's own <permissions> states the licence. The XML is committed unaltered, with the citation and licence kept in the file. The raw file is committed at research/snapshots/mf-pmc-PMC7790295.xml.

Record details

Record id
maternal:who-fetal-growth-charts-study
Content hash
35598897529f247aae30482f6b82a7c11e89a183b67062f2e259c4c930c4c2ac