With many soon-to-be parents worried about the health of their fetus, Taipei Veterans General Hospital yesterday said it has launched a fetal health video consultation platform, so that pregnant women with abnormal ultrasound results can be referred to the hospital for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
According to the CIA’s World Factbook, Taiwan’s total fertility rate was third to last among 224 nations last year. Prenatal healthcare practitioners say the low birth rate puts pressure on them, as parents expect to give birth to perfectly healthy babies, the hospital said.
To enhance fetal healthcare, the hospital established the “Fetal Healthcare: Integrated Interactive Multidisciplinary Real-time Counseling” service last year, so that suspected fetal abnormalities found in pregnancy ultrasound scans at other hospitals can be further examined by an MRI, and consultations can take place between specialists from different hospitals.
The hospital’s radiology department director Kuo Wan-you (郭萬祐) said ultrasounds are still the best and common method to scan for fetal anomalies, but sometimes an MRI is needed, such as when a suspected fetal abnormality needs further confirmation, or for high-risk pregnancies, multiple pregnancies and problems like obesity or low amniotic fluid.
An ultrasound scan has limitations, because it is unable to provide clear images of deeper structures and some areas cannot be seen due to particular fetal positions, but the MRI is not limited by these factors, he said.
Kuo said that more than 500 fetal MRIs have been performed at the hospital over nearly two decades, of which 48 percent were because of suspected central nervous system abnormalities, 34 percent for other suspected abnormalities, 5 percent because of problems with the womb and 13 percent were referred to the hospital due to suspected abnormalities found in prenatal genetic testing.
He said the results of fetal MRIs differed, as well as the choices made by the prospective parents, but scans and consultations with specialists allowed couples to evaluate important medical information so that they could decide how to manage their family.
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