Placental lakes, absent umbilical artery diastolic flow and poor fetal growth in early pregnancy

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Abstract
Uteroplacental insufficiency is a common cause of intrauterine growth retardation in the third trimester of pregnancy. We report a case in which placental vascular lesions, absent end‐diastolic frequencies in the umbilical artery and high maternal serum levels of α‐fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotropin were observed from the beginning of the second trimester in a patient with a history of recurrent first‐ and second‐trimester miscarriages. Fetal growth started to slow down from 14 weeks of gestation and no end‐diastolic phase was found in the umbilical artery until 18 weeks of gestation, when the pregnancy was terminated. In apparently healthy women with or without a history of fetal death during the first half of pregnancy, the discovery of placental vascular lesions together with a high resistance to blood flow in the umbilical circulation should prompt early antepartum surveillance. Copyright © 1996 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

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