ephalopelvic disproportion in the pelvic inlet is a maternal risk factor in childbirth. A high number of dystocias are attended as emergencies and end in cesarean sections because there is no way to diagnose a narrow pelvis early on, a determination which would be easy to perform and at no cost to the patient. The aim of this study was to determine the Anterior Pelvic Index (API) as a predictive estimator of the obstetric conjugate diameter to differentiate narrow and normal pelvises. The study was conducted with 200 adolescent girls aged 14 to 19 years, from Quito, Ecuador; the parents signed the informed consent and the girls agreed to take part. The interspinous distance, height and obstetric conjugate diameter were measured by ultrasonography. Then the API was calculated and the predictive value of the obstetric conjugate diameter was obtained by simple linear regression. The average API value was 14.8 (CI 95 % 14.75 to 14.86) with a minimum value of 13.99 and a maximum value of 19.92. The association between the API and the obstetric conjugate diameter measured by ultrasonography produced a Pearson’s correlation value of 0.543 (p=0.000). The simple linear regression test between the API and the obstetric conjugate diameter measured by ultrasonography was statistically significant. Therefore, it was determined that the prediction of the obstetric conjugate diameter, having the API as a predictor, can be calculated with the following formula: y=4.38+0.45*x and thus a possible narrow pelvis can be anticipated.

KEY WORDS: Pelvis; Pelvimetry; Narrow pelvis; Obstetric conjugate diameter.