Interpretation
Our finding that male fetuses are larger than female fetuses at any
gestational age is consistent with reported
literature.9, 13 It is not surprising that female
fetuses in our cohort were significantly more likely to be considered
SGA and less likely LGA than male fetuses by the sex-neutral fetal
growth standard. Given the commonplace use of sex-specific neonatal
growth charts, it is noteworthy that sex-neutral intrauterine growth
standards still predominate.10, 12, 19 A notable
exception is the growth standard published by the World Health
Organization (WHO), which also demonstrated significant differences
between sexes but does not have a readily usable percentile formula for
clinical use.13