Flawed recommendation issued by the Norwegian Directorate of Health concerning the determination of fetal age.

The autumn of 2014 saw public debate about the appropriate threshold for abortion and gestational age. Gestational age can be determined in a number of ways and ultrasound examination represents an important contribution. In Norway, two methods are in use: the Terminhjulet obstetric wheel, developed in Bergen (the Bergen method) by a group that includes some of the authors of this article, and the eSnurra obstetric wheel, developed in Trondheim (the Trondheim method). Because it was deemed desirable to implement a uniform approach for the whole country, the Norwegian Directorate of Health decreed in a letter to the nation’s health enterprises (1) that the Trondheim method must be the sole tool used to predict pregnancy term and fetal age in Norway. We feel the process has been muddled, and that the Directorate’s decision has been made on grounds that fail to instil confidence. This is not how the Norwegian Directorate of Health should be working.