Does the modified Ballard method of assessing gestational age perform well in a Zimbabwean population?
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance and the utility of using birthweight-adjusted scores of the Ballard method of estimating gestational age in a Zimbabwean population. DESIGN: A validation study. SETTING: Harare Maternity Hospital, from October to December 1999. SUBJECTS: Three hundred and sixty four African newborn infants, with a known last menstrual period (LMP), within 56 hours of life. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ballard scores obtained by examining the newly born infants compared to gestational age calculated from the last menstrual period. RESULTS: The Ballard method was a good predictor of gestational age, useful in differentiating term from preterm infants in the Zimbabwean population. There was a strong correlation between total neurological criteria (Pearson coefficient = 0.79), total physical criteria (Pearson coefficient = 0.77), total scores (Pearson coefficient = 0.81), with the gestational age calculated from the last menstrual period. The error of prediction of one sing
