A Comparison of the Accuracy of Various Methods of Postnatal Gestational Age Estimation; Including Ballard Score, Foot Length, Vascularity of the Anterior Lens, Last Menstrual Period and Also a Clinician’s Non-Structured Assessment

None of the methods studied confidently predicted gestational age within a week, so have little use in clinical practice. Access to early ultrasound should be improved. Further research into the relationship between maturity markers such as the Ballard score and the rates of death and specific premature related illnesses is warranted.