National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Fetal Health and Development is the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
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National Institutes of Health
Fetal Health and Development
A normal pregnancy lasts nine months. Each three-month period of pregnancy is called a trimester. During each trimester, the fetus grows and develops. There are specific prenatal tests to monitor both the mother's health and fetal health during each trimester.
With modern technology, health professionals can
- Detect birth defects
- Identify problems that may affect childbirth
- Correct some kinds of fetal problems before the baby is born
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Start Here
- How Your Baby Grows During Pregnancy(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - PDF
- Stages of Pregnancy(Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
- Also available in Spanish
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Learn More
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The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
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Overviews
- How Your Baby Grows(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation)
- Your Baby's Development: The First Trimester(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
- Your Baby's Development: The Second Trimester(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
- Your Baby's Development: The Third Trimester(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
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Latest News
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Drinking During Pregnancy
(06/18/2013, HealthDay)
- Pesticide Exposure Linked to Changes in Fetal Movement(06/12/2013, HealthDay)
- Extreme Birth Weights Tied to Autism in Swedish Study(05/03/2013, HealthDay)
- Newborn's Placenta May Predict Autism Risk, Study Suggests(04/25/2013, HealthDay)
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New Genetic Link Found Between Normal Fetal Growth and Cancer(04/09/2013, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
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Drinking During Pregnancy
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Diagnosis/Symptoms
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MedlinePlus: Prenatal Testing(National Library of Medicine)
- Also available in Spanish
- Pregnancy - 1st Trimester: Questions to Discuss with Your Doctor(Harvard Medical School)
- Pregnancy - 2nd Trimester: Questions to Discuss with Your Doctor(Harvard Medical School)
- Pregnancy - 3rd Trimester: Questions to Discuss with Your Doctor(Harvard Medical School)
- Special Tests for Monitoring Fetal Health(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - PDF
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MedlinePlus: Prenatal Testing
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Treatment
- Fetal Interventions(Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions)
- Prenatal Surgery: Helping Babies Before Birth(Nemours Foundation)
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Specific Conditions
- Detecting Kidney and Urinary Tract Abnormalities Before Birth(National Kidney Foundation)
- Detection of a Heart Defect in the Fetus(American Heart Association)
- Fetal Circulation(American Heart Association)
- Fetal Conditions, Abnormalities and Diagnoses(Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center)
- Fetal Heart(Texas Heart Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
- Fetal Macrosomia(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Fundal Height: An Accurate Indicator of Fetal Growth?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Hydrops Fetalis/Erythroblastosis Fetalis(Children's Hospital and Health System, Wisconsin)
- Intrauterine Growth Restriction(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
- Sacrococcygeal Teratoma (SCT)(Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)
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Related Issues
- Avoid Fetal "Keepsake" Images, Heartbeat Monitors(Food and Drug Administration)
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What Are the Risks of Preeclampsia and Eclampsia to the Fetus?(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
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Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Fetal Development(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Fetal Diseases(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Fetal Development
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Research
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Surgery on Fetus Reduces Complications of Spina Bifida(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
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Surgery on Fetus Reduces Complications of Spina Bifida
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Thromboembolism and congenital malformations: from Duane syndrome to thalidomide embryopathy.
- Article: Abstracts of the British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society 16th...
- Article: Deviance in fetal growth and risk of autism spectrum disorder.
- Fetal Health and Development -- see more articles
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Dictionaries/Glossaries
- Glossary of Maternal and Fetal Medicine Terms(Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)
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Organizations
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Patient Handouts
- Developmental disorders of the female reproductive tract
- Also available in Spanish
- Fetal development
- Also available in Spanish
- Intrauterine growth restriction
- Also available in Spanish
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You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
Fetal Health and Development - Multiple Languages
