CLINICAL PRESENTATION OF POLYHYDRAMNIOS

• Polyhydramnios is usually suspected on clinical grounds:
• Uterine size too large for the patient’s dates.
• Difficulty in palpating fetal parts.
• Ballottable fetus.
• Difficulty in auscultation of the fetal heart.
• Chronic Polyhydramnios.
  Maternal symptoms are usually absent until the polyhydramnios is quite advanced.
• Acute Polyhydramnios.
  Usually associated with abdominal discomfort.
• End-stage massive hydramnios may be associated with:
• Inferior vena caval compression.
• Dependent edema.
• Elevation of the maternal diaphragm.
• Reduced vital capacity in the lungs.
• Respiratory distress which may be life threatening.