The ability to accurately assess the weight of the fetus during pregnancy can be essential for monitoring fetal growth problems, identifying gestational diabetes and planning for the birth. In general the weight of the fetus is estimated by a sonographic system, but according to a recent study by Dr. Nir Melamed, senior gynecologist in the Maternal Fetal Division, Dr. Yariv Yogev, Head of the Labor Wards and Prof. Israel Meizner, head of Diagnostic and Invasive Ultrasound Unit at Rabin Medical Center's Women's Hospital this may not be good enough for fetuses in the breech position. In Israel where there are over 5,000 breech births every year  and this information is particularly important for decisions regarding the safe delivery of a breech fetus whether there needs to be a be a c-section or if it is possible to have a regular birth. 

The team from RMC's Women's Hospital carried out a study which compared sonographic weight estimations of 165 cases of breech fetuses to 165 cases of regular fetuses, within 3 days prior to delivery, using eight sonographic models. They aimed to assess the accuracy of the sonographic weight estimation for fetuses in the breech presentation and to determine whether certain sonographic models perform better than others. Their study found that there may be a deviation when assessing the weight of fetuses in the breech presentation that is greater by more than 10% than that of fetuses in the vertex presentation, meaning that weight assessment for fetuses in the breech presentation is much less accurate. They concluded that there is a need to develop sonographic models based on an additional three to four biometric index's which can improve weight measurement in breech fetuses and be a much more accurate assessment for masking important delivery decisions, leaving much less room for error. Their study was published in the scientific journal, Ultrasound Obstetrics and Gynecology.