Who we are?
“A translational research team in maternal and fetal medicine”
BCNatal Fetal Medicine Research Center is integrated with BCNatal, a functionally unified clinical area resulting from the merger of the two largest maternal-fetal medicine departments in Barcelona (Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona).
Our main strategic lines are fetal programming, new technologies and improving the clinical management of pregnancy complications.
Main research areas
Fetal medicine opens a window of intervention that until a few years ago did not exist. Thanks to research, it will be possible to improve the health of future generations from the beginning of life.
Solutions to minimize
the health risks
of fetal programming
Complications or environmental changes in pregnancy can influence fetal development affecting our future health, increasing threats to mental, cardiovascular and pulmonary health or cancer risks. The group investigates solutions for better diagnosis and lifestyle-based interventions that could change the health and quality of life of thousands of people.
New technologies
applied to
fetal medicine
In collaboration with bioengineers, we develop several projects for a new generation of fetal surgery operations, an artificial placenta to save extremely premature fetuses, and Artificial Intelligence based methods to improve diagnosis and management in fetal medicine.
Clinical trials for improving the management of maternal-fetal complications
Preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction and prematurity affect millions of women every year worldwide. We develop or collaborate with clinical trials aiming at responding to important questions to improve early diagnosis and prevention of these complications.
Main projects
Fetal quality of life determines health for the rest of life. Fetal medicine is an opportunity to rewrite the future and it does so by seeking solutions, mainly to extreme prematurity, fetal malformations and fetal programming.
Impact BCN
“Improving Mother for a better Prenatal Care Trial” is an extensive clinical trial based on interventions in the nutrition and emotional well-being of the mother to assess the impact of maternal well-being on the newborn.
BCNatal Artificial Placenta
One in ten babies is born prematurely. Creating an artificial placenta will allow the survival of extreme premature babies, minimizing the risk of sequelae.
Ratio 37
The RATIO37 protocol is a multicenter study that incorporates a new ultrasound parameter at week 37 of gestation to detect low birth weight and thus reduce the rate of stillbirth and complications in childbirth.
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