CUMH joins international study on pregnancy testing

CORK University Maternity Hospital is playing a leading role in an international study on developing tests that can identify pregnant women at risk of serious pregnancy complications.

Doctors, scientists and midwives from New Zealand, Australia, Britain the United States are also involved in the SCOPE study. Ireland is the largest single contributor.

Over the next three years, 3,000 women from the Munster region will take part, bringing the total number of women participating globally to 10,000.

The study is being conducted by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at University College Cork.

The SCOPE Ireland team includes midwives, technicians and ultrasonographers and is led by consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist and Health Research Board clinician scientist Dr Louise Kenny.

“This study is of enormous importance,” said Dr Kenny. “We currently have no way of predicting which mothers are at risk of these common and occasionally serious pregnancy complications.”

Midwife Nicholai Murphy, who is co-ordinating the team, said the project could lead to the development of a predictive blood test to identify women at risk of serious complications in their pregnancy.

Funding of €0.6 million has been granted by the Health Research Board to carry out the study.