3D holograms of babies in womb shed fresh light on miscarriages

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Amazing 3D holograms of babies in the womb have shed fresh light on the misery of miscarriage.

They show ill-fated embryos take longer to develop than those that result in live births.

It could lead to better screening and counseling to prepare pregnant moms and their partners for the worst.

Project leader Dr. Melek Rousian, a gynecologist at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, said: "We found in the first 10 weeks embryos in pregnancies that end in a miscarriage took four days longer to develop than babies that did not miscarry.

"We also found the longer it takes for an embryo to develop, the more likely it is to miscarry."

The Dutch team combined state-of-the-art scans, including high-resolution 3D ultrasound and vaginal probes with virtual reality.

It enabled the most detailed study to date of the arms and legs, the shape and length of the brain - and the curvature of the embryo.

The techniques also measured embryonic volume and crown-rump length - from the top of the head to the bottom of the buttocks.

Dr. Rousian said: "In future, the ability to assess the shape and development of embryos could be used to estimate the likelihood of a pregnancy continuing to the delivery of a healthy baby.

"This would enable health professionals to provide counseling to women and their partners about the prospective outcome of the pregnancy and the timely identification of a miscarriage.

"This would be particularly useful for couples who have had previous pregnancies that have ended in miscarriage; we might be able to indicate the risk of another miscarriage or maybe offer some early reassurance."

Reconstructions are based on data from 611 ongoing pregnancies and 33 miscarriages.

The women were taking part in the PREDICT (Rotterdam Preconception Cohort) study.

They were recruited between 2010 and 2018 when seven to ten weeks pregnant.

First author Dr. Carsten Pietersma, an ultrasonographer at Erasmus MC, said: "Without the aid of 3D and virtual reality, it is far more difficult to examine the development of the embryo.

"For instance, the 3D virtual reality technology makes it much easier to see the development of the arms and legs. The curvature and position of the arms and legs have an important role.

"Many historical studies have examined the products of miscarriage, but this is the first time we have been able to look at the developing pregnancy while the pregnancy was still intact."

The study also found a miscarriage was linked to a shorter crown-rump length and smaller embryonic volume.

Dr. Pietersma said: "We are able to show a significant association between miscarriage and a delay in the early development of the embryo, even if the miscarriage was after ten weeks of gestation."

The researchers took into account other factors that could affect outcomes, such as whether the women had been pregnant before, age, ethnicity, socio-economic status, alcohol use, smoking and use of folic acid or other vitamin supplements.

Dr. Denny Sakkas, of Boston IVF in the U.S., who was not involved in the study, said: "The emotional burden of a miscarriage is incredibly high for women with established pregnancies.

"This novel study examines the development of embryos in the womb and finds differences in pregnancies that end in miscarriage compared to those that result in live births.

"The stages of development are calculated from the examination of holograms generated from state-of-the-art 3D ultrasound imaging and virtual reality.

"Use of this technology could prepare patients for an early adverse pregnancy outcome, possibly allowing them to obtain supportive care in case of an adverse outcome."

He is an embryology specialist deputy editor of Human Reproduction, which published the research.