PREGNANCY DATING AND ITS CONFIRMATION IN GHANA: LAST MENSTRUAL PERIOD VERSUS ULTRASONOGRAPHIC DATING.

Edmund K. Brakohiapa¹; Jerry Coleman²; Eric K. Ofori³; Tom A. Ndanu⁴ and William K. Antwi ⁵

¹ Radiology Department, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana

² Department of Obstetrics and gynecology, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana

^{3, 5} Department of Radiography, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Ghana

⁴University of Ghana Dental School, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana

E-mail: ebrakohiapa2000@yahoo.com; jerryc714@yahoo.com; erikof2001@yahoo.co.uk

nutcaresoft@gmail.com; wkantwi@chs.edu.gh

ABSTRACT                                                                                       

The accurate determination of the gestational age is important for proper management of the various stages of the pregnancy since improper management could lead to an increase in maternal and infant mortality. Gestational age could be determined through ultrasonography, symphysio-fundal height (SFH) measurement or the use of last menstrual period (LMP) recall. This study aimed to establish the percentage of Ghanaian women who could accurately determine their gestational age using their LMP. A retrospective study was conducted using data extracted from 2089 ultrasound request forms and the corresponding radiological reports of females who presented for antenatal sonographic evaluation in three diagnostic centres in Accra, Ghana, from January 2007 to December 2008.  Data collected was analyzed using the statistical package for social scientists version 19. The mean, standard deviation and range for the ages of the participants were 28.8 years ± 5.5, and 12 to 53 years respectively. A total of 1269 (60.8 %) of the study population had their gestational age based on LMP within the acceptable clinical range (± 2 weeks of the earliest accurately determined gestational age). The study showed a significant difference (p-value = 0.001) between the LMP and ultrasound based gestational ages. However no significant difference was seen between age groups and the differences in gestational ages (P = 0.300). The study also indicated that there were more (32.3%) negative clinically unacceptable discrepancies than positive discrepancies (6.9 %). The use of ultrasonography for the confirmation of pregnancy and accurate determination of gestational age in the Ghanaian community is imperative for proper management.

Key words: Last Menstrual Period, sonographic dating