Comparison of Amniotic Fluid Index Between Before and After Maternal Position Change in Upright and Left Lateral Decubitus Position

Amniotic fluid has many important roles in fetal development such as the development of the digestive tract and respiratory system. The quantity of amniotic fluid can be measured by ultrasonography, measuring the deepest pocket in 4 quadrants of uterus then summarize as one value known as "amniotic fluid index"(AFI). The AFI has the normal range between 5-25 cm. The low AFI (< 5 cm) is associated with abnormal fetal heart rate, and the abnormal AFI does affect to the treatment during the antepartum and intrapartum phase. However , there is the study shown that when compared to the single deepest pocket (SDP) , AFI could detect the oligohydramnios more which might led to the unnecessary labor induction or operative delivery without the significant change of perinatal outcome. To increase the accuracy of AFI, we theorize that maternal position change might affect the amniotic fluid position which would increase the visual of the amniotic fluid as well.

Inclusion criteria

• Pregnant women age 20-34 years whose gestational age was confirmed by ultrasonography before 24 weeks of gestation

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnant women with multifetal pregnancy
• Pregnant women who have underlying disease
• Pregnant women who have the history of premature rupture of amniotic membrane
• Pregnant women who have amniotic fluid index below 5 cm (oligohydramnios)
• Pregnant women who have amniotic fluid index more than 25 cm (polyhydramnios)
• Pregnant women whose her baby has the fetal anomaly