Fetal & Neonatal Development

Pregnancy does not end with the first trimester, but continues as a persistent interplay between mother and fetus through until birth and beyond.

Recent research shows that events during our development may effect even our health as adults. Brought into current focuse through work originating in England (Barker & Fall, 1993), it has been demonstrated that a low birth weight to placenta weight ratio is associated with a high frequency of hypertension and type II diabetes later in adult life. Though the statistical evidence is convincing, the mechanisms underlying this pathological development are far from understood.

Preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction are still major threats to the unborn child (and the mother) for which we still have no true understanding or treatment. The refinement and development of new diagnostic tools to address the problem of how to detect and quantify the decreased margin of safety an affected fetus has to live with is an important goal of this focus group.