New ways to predict outcomes of pregnancies with fetal growth problems

decorative A team of scientists, led by researchers at UCL, have developed new methods to predict outcomes for pregnancies where there are issues with poor growth of the baby inside the womb. The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation , involved 142 women from the EVERREST Prospective Study* who had severe early-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR) - meaning their babies were very small on ultrasound scans early in the second half of pregnancy (between 20 and 27 weeks). Fetal growth restriction affects approximately 60,000 babies per year in Europe and the USA. Some babies with FGR continue to grow and are born around their due date. However, many will either need extreme preterm delivery (before 28 weeks of pregnancy) or will not survive the pregnancy, resulting in stillbirth. In England alone, it is estimated that the annual total costs of neonatal care are £262million**. Lead author, Dr Rebecca Spencer (UCL EGA Institute for Women's Health and University of Leeds), said: "There is currently a lot of uncertainty for the families of unborn babies with early-onset fetal growth restriction and for their health-carers.