Fetal medicine

The fetal medicine service provides specialist care for pregnant women when there are concerns about their baby’s health. UHL is a regional referral centre, which means you may be referred to us from another hospital outside Leicestershire. We also provide regional services where there are concerns about the placenta (placenta accreta spectrum or PAS).

We are proud to work closely with many specialist teams to provide expert care for babies with complex conditions. These include:

• Neonatal (newborn) specialists who care for babies after birth.
• Fetal cardiology specialists (heart doctors) when a heart difference is identified during pregnancy.
• Paediatric surgeons (doctors who perform surgery for babies and children)
• Clinical genetics who provide counselling and care for people with genetic conditions

Because of these specialist services, most babies who need extra care can continue their treatment at UHL before and after birth.

Fetal medicine clinic

You may be referred to the fetal medicine team if you:

• have a higher chance screening result for certain chromosomal conditions
• need further scans or investigations due to findings during pregnancy (related to your baby or the placenta) which may also include how the baby is growing
• are having twins, triplets or more – called multiple pregnancy
• have had complications in a previous pregnancy
• have certain medical conditions that may affect your baby’s health

Attending your appointment

Fetal medicine clinics take place at:

• Leicester General Hospital
• Leicester Royal Infirmary

You may bring one person with you, but children are not able to attend.

Please:

• allow plenty of time for your visit
• make flexible arrangements for childcare, work, and parking
• arrive on time and allow extra time for parking, especially at Leicester Royal Infirmary

Appointments can vary in length depending on your individual needs. Some visits, including scans and discussions, may last more than an hour. Sometimes clinics run late if earlier patients need additional care. We appreciate your patience if this happens.

Before your scan

When you arrive, please check in at reception.

• If you are less than 16 weeks pregnant, please try to attend with a full bladder, as this can improve scan images.
• After 16 weeks, this is not necessary.

During your visit

• A member of the fetal medicine team will discuss the reason for your referral
• You will have an ultrasound scan.
• The results will be explained, and any further care or tests will be discussed.

There may also be other staff present, such as doctors in training, medical students, or midwives.

Further tests and follow up

Some parents may be offered additional tests including:

• non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT)
• diagnostic testing (amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS))
• blood tests for common infections
• no further testing

We will make further appointments for you as needed. Some parents will be invited to the ADAM (Antenatal Diagnosis and Management) clinic.

Some parents will make a difficult decision to end the pregnancy based on the scan findings or results. This is called termination for medical reasons (TFMR). We have specialist midwives who will help families through this difficult time.

Occasionally, referral to highly specialist services outside of UHL is required.