Fetal Medicine
Maternal–fetal medicine, also known as perinatology, is a branch of medicine that focuses on managing health concerns of the mother and fetus prior to, during, and shortly after pregnancy.
Fetal Medicine Overview
Fetal medicine can be defined as the new age medical intervention science that helps in detecting birth defects in the fetus. This field of science detects most abnormalities in the baby before it is born. Fetal medicine also supports in the prenatal management and the diagnosis of the defects through surgery, delivery and post-birth care (multidisciplinary team approach).
This empowers the expecting parents and the doctors of what lies ahead. based on the detection, the parents have the choice of managing most fetal defects intrauterine. This procedure is also useful for saving their child from any abnormalities.
The Department of Fetal Medicine also helps in planning the pregnancy of the complicated cases along with obstetricians, neonatologists, pediatric surgeons and others.
Prenatal diagnosis is the ever-improving ability to detect abnormal conditions of the fetus (and to differentiate them from normal fetal development). The most common (and often first) test used for prenatal diagnosis is ultrasound.
Complete Spectrum of Fetal Medicine Services
Services provided by Fetal Medicine Department are:
- Early pregnancy scan
- NT/NB scan
- Integrated first trimester screening
- NIPT
- Level II (Anomaly scan)
- Growth scan and Doppler
- Biophysical Profile (BPP)
- Fetal Echocardiography
- Genetic counseling
- Amniocentesis
- Chorionic villus sampling
- Selective fetal reduction
SCREENING TESTS IN FETAL MEDICINE
Due to the advancements in medicine, we now have several methods used to screen and detect the abnormalities that may be present in the fetus. The special techniques help parents to be aware and manage pregnancies especially when they have a history of life-altering genetic diseases. The science also provides options to rectify certain defects in the womb itself, providing the parents do not blindly opt for a medical termination.
Common diseases for which fetal medicine look out are – Down’s syndrome, other chromosomal abnormalities like Edwards, patau syndrome, Di George syndrome and structural defects like Open Spina Bifida, limb abnormalities, skeletal abnormalities, bladder obstruction etc.
The various options for screening and detection are:
- ULTRASOUND
This is the simplest and the most common detection technique. This helps to pick up most structural abnormalities and gives a clue for the underlying chromosomal abnormality.
An important marker of the chromosomal abnormality especially Down syndrome is NUCHAL TRANSLUCENCY which with the advancement has been combined with the other markers.
Adding certain blood tests improves the level of accuracy of the diagnosis of Down syndrome.
- INVASIVE DIAGNOSTIC TESTS – They require a form of surgical intervention in the form of insertion of a fine needle into the uterus under ultrasound guidance. The most common invasive tests are Amniocentesis, Chorion villus sampling, and fetal blood sampling.
- NIPT /NIFTY is a novel SCREENING test with very high accuracy(99.6%) for Down syndrome without any risk of miscarriage, as it is done by segregating fetal DNA from mother’s blood by an advanced technique.
Selective Embryo Reduction – In case of higher order multiple pregnancies, it is advisable to reduce the number of fetuses to two in order to minimize risks of multiple pregnancies both to the mother as well to the fetuses.
PRE-ECLAMPSIA SCREENING
Pre-eclampsia is pregnancy-induced high blood pressure. It is one of the most common life-threatening conditions occurring in pregnancy. It occurs 1 in 50 pregnancies. High blood pressure can be extremely dangerous to both, the mother and baby. Currently, the only treatment is delivery. The delivery needs to be timed carefully as it needs to balance the condition of the mother and the maturity of the baby.
The probability of developing pre-eclampsia is increased by some factors including high body mass index (BMI), first pregnancy, and having any previous personal and family history of pre-eclampsia.
In addition to your 11-13 week scan you can opt to have a pre-eclampsia pregnancy screening for this potentially serious condition. There is vast evidence that early pre-eclampsia is associated with an increased risk to you and your baby’s health. Better maternal and fetal monitoring if detected high risk would lead to the early detection of pre-eclampsia from the clinical signs of the disease and where necessary medication can be given.
Fetal Medicine Frequently Asked Questions
Does fetal medicine provide maternal care?
Yes fetal medicine provides maternal and fetal care during and after the pregnancy.
How safe is fetal surgery?
All surgical procedures are associated with risk. At Motherland Hospital our obstetric team delivers exceptional care for high-risk moms throughout pregnancy and afterwards. Our level III NICU is fully staffed with Pediatric Specialists to care for your baby.
What is meant by twin-to-twin transfusion?
Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome occurs by intrauterine blood transfusion from one twin (donor) to another twin (recipient). It only occurs in monozygotic (identical) twins with a monochromic placenta.
When is open fetal surgery deemed essential?
We at Motherland Hospital performs open fetal surgery in rare conditions, usually to keep the detected abnormalities from becoming life-threatening.
When is fetal intervention required?
We have expert doctors to diagnosis the fetal conditions precisely, fetal therapy is started at any point during the pregnancy. The experts provide the treatment plan based on the condition.
Do maternal-fetal medicine specialists give prenatal counseling?
Yes, at Motherland Hospital maternal-fetal care includes prenatal counseling and postnatal care for you and your child.
What services does fetal medicine specialty clinic offer?
Motherland Hospital Fetal medicine department offers service like transvaginal scans, and pre-term labour screening.
Our Doctors
