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Fetal growth study to customize curves
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by Megan Fink
Public Relations
Just as no pregnancy is exactly alike, the standards to measure growth
and diagnose fetal abnormalities shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all either.
Investigators from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology joined
three other medical centers across the country to follow the fetal
growth in 3,000 pregnant patients over a two-year period to better
understand how normal babies develop inside the womb during an
uncomplicated pregnancy. Data obtained from studies at MUSC, Columbia
University, University of California at Irvine, and Northwestern will
go toward developing customized growth curves and to set a healthy
standard for fetal growth; something already being done in Europe.
“A young, tall, thin Caucasian woman of European descent should not be
compared to an overweight Samoan woman, who has had multiple children,
or a short first-time Hispanic mother using the same fetal growth
standards,” said Roger Newman, M.D., principal investigator for The
National Standard for Normal Fetal Growth study at MUSC. “Most curves
now are based on population data. We currently use a growth curve
generated from information based on babies born in North Carolina. This
new study will allow for a better determination of normal growth based
on individual maternal and fetal variables.”
At present time, physicians measure the size of an expectant mother’s
uterus with a tape measure to determine fetal growth; a process called
“fundal height measurement.” Tracking maternal weight gain and
ultrasounds also are used to estimate intrauterine growth. Limits in
accuracy of these methods have lead to the need for better standards of
normal fetal growth.
New variables that may be part of a database to determine if a
patient’s baby is growing as it should include age, ethnicity, height,
weight, medical history, and the gender of the baby, if known. The
combination of all of these factors is unique, and therefore, produces
more personalized growth curves. Resulting data will allow physicians
to better answer questions, such as, what should a baby whose mother
has the following characteristics weigh at 27 weeks? Is this baby
underdeveloped or at risk, or is the fetal growth appropriate for this
specific mom?
MUSC is currently recruiting 600 low-risk women, who have a normal body
mass index and no significant medical complications. These women must
also be in their first trimester (first three months) to participate in
this study. Investigators are looking for spontaneous,
single pregnancies, so no twins or assisted-reproductive pregnancies.
Deliveries must be planned for either MUSC or East Cooper Regional
Medical Center located in Mount Pleasant. The length of participation
will vary, but will not exceed nine months.
Qualified participants will receive gift cards, a CD containing your
baby’s ultrasound pictures, and study-themed tee shirts for mother and
baby. Shirts read “My baby is one of the 3,000 most important babies in
the U.S.,” and “I am the standard by which all other babies are
judged.”
For information or participation in this study, contact Carolyn
Williams at 792-0349, Holly Boggan at 876-1434, or Sarah Cordell at
792-6654.
Friday, Sept. 11, 2009
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