Fetal medicine is a special branch of medicine that involves the evaluation of fetal growth and overall well being of the mother and child. It also includes the diagnosis of different types of fetal abnormalities and illnesses as well as the general maintenance of the fetal health. With advancement in prenatal diagnosis technologies, our capability to identify health complications before birth has increased. For this reason, the fetus is being considered more and more as a separate and independent individual in medical science, and the special area of expertise that has developed to address various health issues pertaining to the fetus has been named as fetal medicine. As fetal medicine is a rather new branch of medical science, it often requires professional input and expertise from various specialists such as obstetricians, neonatologists, perinatologists, pediatric surgical specialists, pediatric cardiologists, geneticists and many others. There are two arbitrary branches of fetal medicine – the first one is the prenatal diagnosis and the second one is the fetal treatment. The prenatal diagnosis aspect deals with the carrying out of diagnostic tests to evaluate fetal health and to see if there are any differences between the present conditions with normal fetal development. Out of all the tests that are carried out, the most common as well as often the first test employed for a prenatal diagnosis is the ultrasound. Other tests that are used in the fetal medicine studies include the following: Non-invasive diagnostic tests · Doppler ultrasound · 2D and 3D ultrasound · MRI scans or magnetic resonance imaging · Echocardiography and cardiotocography of the fetus · Maternal blood tests to look for fetal cells or some other specific conditions Screening tests These simple and rather inexpensive tests are carried out in order to detect all instances of a particular abnormality with a large population that is at risk. Some of the common examples include the following: · MSAFP or Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein is a type of maternal blood test that's carried out to detect myelomeningocele or spina bifida · Nuchal translucency is a particular finding on an ultrasound examination of fetal neck that might indicate the presence of Down syndrome · Additional blood tests to confirm the presence of Down syndrome Fetal medicine should always be supervised by a registered specialist to avoid any mishaps. Aikya Healthcare on Kanakapura Main Road, Bangalore is a leading institution that provides patients with state of the art fetal medicine expertise. So if you are looking for a fetal medicine specialist in Bangalore, you can always count on the doctors of Aikya Healthcare as they will be more than happy to assist you. Aikya Healthcare is a well recognized women health hospital and it has highly experienced fetal medicine specialist in Bangalore, who can handle any complex health issues of pregnant women.
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