Fetal Ascites

Extensive ascites at birth is uncommon, and only 107 cases have been reported. The ascites may be due to several widely differing causes, but in almost all cases the children having this condition have died. We wish to report an infant with marked fetal ascites who was treated conservatively and subsequently had an uneventful course.

Report of a Case  A boy was the third child of a 22-year-old Spanish-American woman whose blood was Type A, Rh-positive. She had had regular prenatal care, and the pregnancy had been uneventful except for the "grippe" during the first month of pregnancy and marked enlargement of the abdomen in the third trimester. Roentgenograms taken during the 35th week of pregnancy were interpreted as showing a fetus of normal size and proportions. However, review of these films disclosed less flexion of the fetal thighs on the abdomen than is usually seen, although no definite evidence