Indore: 2% foetuses have anomalies, but early treatment allows baby a normal life

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The prevalence of anomalies in foetuses is about 2 per cent of the total pregnancy cases in our country.

The number has been increasing in records but actually, the cases being diagnosed are increasing.

“About a couple of decades ago, women delivered 5-6 children, but only 2-3 survived. The reason behind the same was foetal anomalies which remained undiagnosed. Now, with the advancement in medical science, the foetal disorder can be diagnosed even in 18-20 weeks of pregnancy and some of them can be treated during pregnancy while many can be treated just after the birth,” national president of the Society of Foetal Medicine, Dr Bimal Sahani said.

He was talking to Free Press on the sidelines of the installation of Madhya Pradesh Chapter of the Society.

“India doesn’t have any registry for foetal anomalies and the major hurdle in preparing one is that it requires a lot of paperwork and hospitals are unwilling to share data for any new registry which is not mandatory,” Dr Sahani said.

Talking about the need of establishing a society, Madhya Pradesh president Dr Harish Chhabra said that foetal medicine requires specialisation of multiple doctors including gynaecologists, paediatricians, radiologists, and even cardiologists.

“More than 200 experts from across the state participated in a one-day conference and discussed the issues in the first trimester, vascular disorders, daily ultrasound practice, foetal infections, and others,” Dr Chhabra said.

Secretary Dr Gurdeep Chhabra informed about the rare cases in which a stent was administered to a foetus.