What is it about?
The key findings of the study were that small placental area was associated with higher uterine artery pulsatility index (PI) and low placental weight was associated with higher umbilical artery PI. Both of these placental features were associated with a slower growth of the fetal abdomen. Furthermore, the shape of the placenta was associated with flow velocity waveform in the uterine but not the umbilical artery. To summarise, normal fetal growth is dependent on both the maternal supply of nutrients and the fetal uptake of nutrients within the placenta. In addition, maternal surface area of the placenta is a major determinant of the uterine artery resistance.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
There are two main reasons why this research is important. This is the first large study to evaluate the relationship between ultrasonic measurements in fetal life and the size and shape of the placenta following birth. Secondly, it has the potential to increase the understanding of different patterns of utero-placental blood flow and fetal growth in relation to placental size and shape.
Perspectives
On the publication website you can view a 5-minute author presentation of our paper (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0143400415300989). Audioslides content by Ulla Sovio, read by Nastaran Salavati.
Dr Ulla Sovio
University of Cambridge
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The relationship between human placental morphometry and ultrasonic measurements of utero-placental blood flow and fetal growth, Placenta, February 2016, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2015.12.003.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
