Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Infants born at preterm gestational ages have a higher chance of death or serious complications after birth. While poor fetal growth is known to increase the chance of preterm birth occurring because of physician intervention (i.e. a physician deciding to induce birth or perform a Caesarean section delivery because the fetus is small), it is not as well known if poor fetal growth will also increase the risk of a spontaneous preterm birth. The goal of this project is to better understand the relationship between fetal growth and risk of spontaneous preterm birth and associated clinical complications in newborn infants. Prenatal ultrasound estimates of fetal weight will be linked with electronic medical records of maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes. Fetal growth trajectories will then be matched with spontaneous preterm birth and clinical complication status in order to identify growth patterns associated with higher risk. This information will then be used to create a tool for physicians to better predict pregnancies at increased risk of spontaneous preterm delivery. This project will help increase our understanding of the reasons why some infants are born preterm, and will produce a new tool to screen for high risk pregnancies in prenatal care.