Life before Birth: the Fetus as a Patient

Papp, Zoltan

"The birth of a healthy infant is the greatest gift in a couple's life," said Zoltán Papp, obstetrician-gynecologist. Papp summarizes that the role of the obstetrician is to preserve the health of both the mother and the intrauterine fetus. Modern obstetrics and prenatal diagnosis provide the possibility for prenatal detection of fetal malformations and indicate intervention when necessary. Intrauterine diagnosis starts from the pre-implantation stage. The birth of a child with chromosomal or monogenic disorders can be avoided with the help of pre-implantation and prenatal genetic diagnoses. The development of fetal ultrasound diagnosis has made it possible to detect malformations and hypoxia of the fetus. Monitoring the fetal heart rate during labor can indicate when the life of the fetus is threatened. There has been a significant increase in the relative number of healthy newborns in the past two decades thanks to developments in obstetrics.

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