FETAL BLOOD-SAMPLING AND ITS COMPLICATIONS RELATED TO THE INDICATIONSFOR FETAL BLOOD-SAMPLING

A prospective study on fetal blood sampling (FBS) was conducted in the Fetomaternal Medicine Division of the Department of Obstetrics and Gy naecology at the National University Hospital, Singapore. FBS was perf ormed on 159 occasions in 156 women between January, 1988 and December , 1991. The aim of this study was to identify the factors that were as sociated with an adverse outcome following the procedure. Twenty four abnormal pregnancies were terminated; of the remaining 132 desired pre gnancies the overall pregnancy loss was 44 (33.3%), which included tho se within 2 weeks and those after 2 weeks of the procedure and neonata l deaths. Fetal loss occurring within 2 weeks of the procedure is cons idered a procedure-related loss which occurred in 19 (14.3%) of the 13 2 pregnancies. When the fetal loss occurred within 2 weeks of the proc edure 89% had a major abnormality on ultrasonographic scanning. The co nclusion from our study is that the risks of FBS were increased in abn ormal pregnancies, most likely due to the underlying pathology.