New technologies, management guides and their application in modern obstetrics: the example of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)

Abstract

Perinatal medicine has evolved significantly during the last 25 years; however, poor results have been obtained regarding topics such as premature birth compared to the economic, technological and human efforts being made. In the field of abnormal foetal growth, generalising the use of ultrasounderived technological media have irreversibly revolutionised the clinical course of a disease which, until 2 decades ago, was subjectively and indirectly evaluated by means of measuring uterine index or ponderal gain and post-natal or post-mortem confirmation, having minimum knowledge related to natural history.1 In fact, there is no consistency between the results of work presented during the 1980s and that currently obtained referring to foetuses having abnormal growth. This gives the impression that one will be talking about two different entities.