Using a 'tape measure' to assess a baby's growth during pregnancy is a very primitive method of assesing the fetal well-being. Mr Ali therefore undertakes a fetal well-being scan on all his patients at each antenatal visit. High risk patients can also be offered blood flow (doppler) scans to assess the blood flow within the fetal brain, uterine and umbilical arteries.
Uterine artery doppler scans are increasingly being used to screen for pregnancies at risk of developing later severe pre-eclampsia and fetal growth problems.