Ethnic differences in participation in prenatal screening for Down syndrome: a register-based study.

Objective: To assess ethnic differences in participation in prenatal screening for Down syndrome in the Netherlands.

Methods: Participation in prenatal screening was assessed for the period 1 January 2009 to 1 July 2009 in a defined postal code area in the southwest of the Netherlands. Data on ethnic origin, socio-economic background and age of participants in prenatal screening were obtained from the Medical Diagnostic Centre and the Department of Clinical Genetics.

Three-dimensional US assessment of hepatic volume, head circumference, and abdominal circumference in healthy and growth-restricted fetuses.

Purpose: To establish reproducibility and normal values for fetal hepatic volume and its significance in identification of fetal growth restriction relative to head and upper abdominal circumferences according to a cross-sectional study design.

Materials And Methods: Pregnant women (n = 135) underwent ultrasonography. The coefficient of variation (CV) for hepatic volume scans obtained at 0 and 20 minutes and hepatic area tracings, performed twice for each scan, was determined (n = 20; range, 23-36 weeks).

Prenatal prediction of pulmonary hypoplasia: clinical, biometric, and Doppler velocity correlates.

Objectives: To determine the value of pulmonary artery Doppler velocimetry relative to fetal biometric indices and clinical correlates in the prenatal prediction of lethal lung hypoplasia (LH) in prolonged (>1 week) oligohydramnios.

Methods: Forty-two singleton pregnancies with oligohydramnios associated with premature rupture of membranes ([PROM]; n = 31) or bilateral renal pathology (n = 11) were examined using color-coded Doppler ultrasound in a cross-sectional study design. Mean gestational age was 28.