Intra-Uterine Growth and Fatal Fetal Abnormality

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Abstract
To study intrauterine growth in pregnancies complicated by fatal abnormality of the fetus, 73 pregnancies involving fetal or neonatal death caused by malformation, chromosomal aberration or Mendelian disease were evaluated. Small-for-gestational age newborns were found in 45% of the patients, and this finding was typical of 18-trisomies, amnion adhesion syndrome fetuses and multimalformed fetuses. Pregnancies affected by a Mendelian disease or a single fetal malformation mostly presented normal intrauterine growth. In 25% of the patients, the symphyseal-fundal growth was retarded; this retardation started on average in the 25th gestational wk. Polyhydramnios was present in 30% of the patients and was expressed in growth acceleration of the symphyseal-fundal measurement from the 28th gestational wk. In 45% of the small-for-gestational-age fetuses, biparietal growth showed low profile type retardation. The brain-sparing phenomenon in growth was found in 21%. To assess the prospects of the conceivable modes of treatment, the need for an exact diagnostic evaluation of all pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth retardation and a consideration of the need for diagnostic amniocentesis in cases of early growth retardation is emphasized. This also applied to the time after legal abortion.

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