Ballard Maturational Assessment

The Ballard Maturational Assessment, Ballard Score, or Ballard Scale is a commonly used technique of gestational age assessment. It assigns a score to various criteria, the sum of all of which is then extrapolated to the gestational age of the baby. These criteria are divided into Physical and Neurological criteria. This scoring allows for the estimation of age in the range of 26 weeks-44 weeks. The New Ballard Score is an extension of the above to include extremely pre-term babies i.e. up to 20 weeks.

The scoring relies on the intra-uterine changes that the fetus undergoes during its maturation. Whereas the neurological criteria depend mainly upon muscle tone, the physical ones rely on anatomical changes. The neonate (less than 37 weeks of age) is in a state of physiological hypotonia. This tone increases throughout the fetal growth period, meaning a more premature baby would have lesser muscle tone.

It was developed in 1979.[1]

The Neuromuscular criteria

These are:

  1. Posture
  2. Square window
  3. Arm recoil
  4. Popliteal angle
  5. Scarf sign
  6. Heel To ear[2]

The Physical criteria

These are:

  1. Skin
  2. Ear/eye
  3. Lanugo hair
  4. Plantar surface
  5. Breast bud
  6. Genitals
Physical Maturity of the Ballard Maturational Assessment of Gestational Age[3]
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 Record Score Below:
Skin sticky, friable, transparent gelatinous, red, translucent smooth pink, visible veins superficial peeling &/or rash, few veins cracking, pale areas, rare veins parchment, deep cracking, no vessels leathery, cracked, wrinkled
Lanugo None Sparse Abundant Thinning Bald areas Mostly bald Sparse
Plantar surface Heel-toe
40–50 mm: -1
<40 mm: -2		 >50 mm
no crease		 Faint red marks Anterior transverse crease only Creases over anterior 2/3 of sole Creases over entire sole
Breast Imperceptible Barely perceptible Flat areola
no bud		 Stippled areola
1–2 mm bud		 Raised areola
3–4 mm bud		 Full areola
5–10 mm bud
Eye and Ear Lids fused
Loosely: -1
Tightly: -2		 Lids open
pinna flat
stays folded		 Sl. curved pinna
soft; slow recoil 		Well-curved pinna
soft but ready recoil		 Formed & firm
instant recoil 		Thick cartilage
ear stiff
Genitals (Male) Scrotum flat,
smooth		 Scrotum empty,
faint rugae		 Testes in upper canal,
rare rugae		 Testes descending,
few rugae		 Testes down,
good rugae 		Testes pendulous,
deep rugae
Genitals (Female) Clitoris prominent & labia flat Prominent clitoris & small labia minora Prominent clitoris & enlarging minora Majora & minora equally prominent Majora large, minora small Majora cover clitoris & minora

Scoring

Each of the above criteria are scored from 0 through 5, in the original Ballard Score. The scores were then ranged from 5 to 50, with the corresponding gestational ages being 26 weeks and 44 weeks. An increase in the score by 5 increases the age by 2 weeks. The New Ballard Score allows scores of -1 for the criteria, hence making negative scores possible. The possible scores then range from -10 to 50, the gestational range extending up to 20 weeks. (A simple formula to come directly to the age from the Ballard Score is Age=(2*score+120) /5)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ballard JL, Novak KK, Driver M (November 1979). "A simplified score for assessment of fetal maturation of newly born infants". J. Pediatr. 95 (5 Pt 1): 769–74. doi:10.1016/S0022-3476(79)80734-9. PMID 490248.
  2. ↑ Bedside clinics in paediatrics | author=Sibarjun Ghosh
  3. ↑ Ballard, JL; Khoury, JC; Wedig, K; Wang, L; Eilers-Walsman, BL; Lipp, R (September 1991). "New Ballard Score, expanded to include extremely premature infants.". The Journal of Pediatrics 119 (3): 417–23. doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(05)82056-6. PMID 1880657. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
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