Normal second and third trimester uterine and umbilical doppler indices among healthy singleton gestation Nigerian women

Background: Uterine and Umbilical artery Doppler ultrasound is an established and safe tool for quantitative analysis of the utero-placental and the feto-placental blood flow in pregnancy. Aim: To evaluate the Doppler indices in the uterine and umbilical arteries of healthy pregnant women. These will serve as baseline values in predicting impaired blood flow velocimetry in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy that leads to serious maternal and foetal health compromise. Methodology: This was a prospective longitudinal study in consenting singleton gestation women. The right and the left uterine arteries and the umbilical arteries were interrogated. Doppler parameters; Peak Systolic Velocity (PSV), End Diastolic Velocity (EDV), Resistive Index (RI), Pulsatility Index (PI) and the systolic to diastolic ratio(S/D) were obtained from each healthy pregnant indigenous Nigerian women. Pearson's correlation analysis of the relationship between these parameters and selected maternal demographic parameters was done. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean of the normal uterine and umbilical arteries values were different from most published reference values from other parts of the World. No correlation between these indices and maternal parameters were found in this study. Conclusion: Uterine and umbilical artery Doppler indices among normal indigenous pregnant African women are different from those from the developed World. Using other reference values may be inaccurate for pregnant women in our environment.