Grant: Operating Grant

During pregnancy, the placenta (afterbirth) carries oxygen and nutrients from the mother's blood to the fetus (unborn baby). Sometimes, the placenta does not work properly and the fetus does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients to grow normally. These fetuses are small and sick. They require extra doctor's visits and may need to be delivered early. If the fetus is delivered too early, it may not survive. When the placenta is making the fetus small, it is called placental growth restriction. On the other hand, some fetuses will be normally small. These fetuses may have small parents and is supposed to be small. These fetuses are healthy and the placenta is giving them enough oxygen and nutrients to properly. These fetuses do not need extra monitoring by the doctor and do not need to be delivered early. When a fetus is found to be small during an ultrasound, it is difficult for the doctor to tell why the fetus is small. The doctor cannot tell if the fetus is normally small or has placental growth restriction. In most cases, normally small fetuses are treated like placental growth restricted fetuses. They will have unnecessary monitoring which is expensive and may be delivered earlier than needed. It would be useful for doctors to have a blood test that could identify small fetuses with placental growth restriction. We have found three proteins in the mother's blood that changes when the placenta is not working properly. We will test whether or not the amount of these proteins in the mother's blood can correctly tell us if the fetus is small because of the placenta or because it is normally small. If we find that these proteins can identify placental growth restriction with certainty, it will help doctors focus extra monitoring only on the sick fetus during pregnancy. It would help save healthcare money and resources. It would also help prevent early delivery of the normally small fetus during pregnancy.