Localisation of the Fetus and Placenta

Normal human placental metabolism has been studied in vivo by image localised 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 13 women with anterior placentas; five, however, were too fat for useful spectral signals to be obtained. Magnetic resonance spectra of good quality which were considered to have arisen from the placenta were obtained from seven women with uncomplicated pregnancies (median gestational age 35 weeks, range 28-39). One other woman had a twin pregnancy in which one fetus had died a few days before. The phosphodiester signal from the placenta of the dead fetus was outside the 95% confidence intervals for normal placentas, suggesting that this technique may potentially be useful in the assessment of placental function. University of Liverpool, PO Box 47, Liverpool L69 3BX, Department of Child Health A M Weindling Department of Medicine R D Griffiths R H T Edwards Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology A S Garden Magnetic Resonance Research Centre P A Martin Correspondence to: Dr Weindling. Accepted 7 January 1991 The ability to assess fetal wellbeing reliably is essential for making informed decisions about the management of the fetus that is considered to be at risk. The ideal method should be safe, non-invasive, and capable of providing information in normal as well as abnormal pregnancies. Indirect methods, such as Doppler blood flow studies, are neither specific nor sensitive enough to diagnose a hypoxic fetus accurately. Direct methods, such as cordocentesis, are inva-