Improving the Prediction and Management of Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Authors

Shulamis Sadowsky

Abstract

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a potentially fatal and often missed obstetric complication. The fetus is deprived of vital blood, oxygen, and nutrients due to faulty maternofetal circulation, leading to a severe lack of fetal growth. Since current prenatal testing is highly ineffective at diagnosing the condition, many babies with IUGR are negatively impacted before, during, and after birth. This paper assesses alternative and innovative detection and management methods of IUGR. Current routine prenatal care includes simple fundal height measurements to screen for IUGR. This analysis finds that other testing may increase the rate of detection of the disease. Maternal serum analytes, uterine artery dopplers, and fetal heart rate analysis all provide relatively small rates of detection. However, due to their non-invasive nature, they offer the option of taking a multipronged testing approach to increase the chance of an IUGR pregnancy being properly diagnosed and managed. Possible management includes aspirin and early delivery; however, this analysis does not find a consistently positive effect for either of these options, despite the pathology of the disease suggesting that these approaches would improve outcomes. More research is needed to find optimal diagnostic testing and treatment for intrauterine growth restriction.

Recommended Citation

Shulamis Sadowsky. (2023). Improving the Prediction and Management of Intrauterine Growth Restriction. The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences, 16(2), 23-29. Retrieved from https://touroscholar.touro.edu/sjlcas/vol16/iss2/5