Saint Mary’s is top recruiter to trial for women with reduced fetal movements
Saint Mary’s research midwives and Antenatal Assessment Unit (AAU) team have achieved top recruiting site to the Reduced Fetal Movement Intervention Trial (ReMIT-2) for the second month running.
Professor Alex Heazell, Clinical Director of the Tommy’s stillbirth research centre, is leading the study at Saint Mary’s. The study is looking at whether an additional blood test to measure how well the placenta is working, called a Placental Growth Factor (PGF) test, is better at helping doctors decide how to treat women who notice a decrease in their baby’s movements compared with current NHS care.
Previous studies show that there are higher rates of complications in babies with significantly less movement in utero. Current tests identify that 1 in 4 of these babies are either smaller than expected or require additional care after birth. The PGF blood test predicts these complications in an additional 1 in 5 pregnancies however may also increase the chance of predicting complications even when the baby is OK which means that 1 in 8 women will be offered an early delivery.
Results from ReMIT2 will provide initial information about whether the blood test is helpful in making clinical decisions compared with standard clinical care.
The study is funded by NIHR and supported by the NIHR Clinical Research Network: Greater Manchester.
