Fetal anaemia & hydrops
Middle cerebral artery Doppler, the cause of anaemia, evidence of decompensation, gestation, and whether fetal blood sampling or transfusion assessment is appropriate.
Explore anaemia and transfusion →Fetal diagnosis · intervention · UAE referral
When the finding cannot wait.
A deep clinical resource and direct UAE route from an abnormal fetal finding to expert review, precise diagnosis, candidacy assessment, and coordinated treatment.
Therapy and procedures: Mediclinic Airport Road Hospital, Abu Dhabi · Diagnostics and referral: Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Mediclinic pathways from Dubai
12 educational clinical topics04 urgency pathways03 UAE access regions01 direct case-review route
The direct answer
Fetal therapy is a decision pathway—not a list of procedures.
Fetal therapy is treatment during pregnancy for a selected fetal or placental condition when intervening before birth may change the course of serious disease.
The first intervention is often diagnostic precision. The team must confirm the finding, gestation, anatomy, severity, trajectory, maternal condition, genetic context, and realistic alternatives. Only then can it judge whether observation, prenatal treatment, delivery, postnatal care, or comfort-focused care offers the most proportionate path.
A referral therefore creates a structured decision. It does not guarantee a procedure, and a recommendation not to intervene can be the safest expert conclusion.
Read the full introduction to fetal therapy →The condition map
Different mechanisms. Different clocks.
Fetal therapy begins by identifying what is causing harm, how quickly it may change, and whether that mechanism can be treated before birth.
TTTS, TAPS & selective growth restriction
Chorionicity, fluid and bladder findings, Doppler, staging, cervical length, and whether surveillance, delivery, or fetoscopic assessment should be discussed.
Understand monochorionic twins →Chest, bladder & fluid collections
Cause, anatomy, progression, hydrops risk, genetic context, and whether sampling, drainage, shunting, treatment after birth, or observation is appropriate.
See drainage and shunt decisions →Sampling & suspected fetal infection
Separate maternal infection, transmission, fetal infection, and fetal disease; then choose imaging, CVS, amniocentesis, cordocentesis, or surveillance for the question.
Explore the infection pathway →Referral urgency algorithm
Match the route to the clock.
“Urgent” may mean emergency maternal assessment, same-day specialist triage, or a rapid case review before a treatment window narrows. These routes are not interchangeable.
01Now
Maternal or pregnancy emergency
Heavy bleeding, collapse, severe breathlessness, severe pain, sudden fluid loss, or clearly reduced fetal movement.
Attend the nearest appropriate emergency department now. Do not wait for the referral form.
02Today
Urgent specialist triage
New or worsening hydrops, suspected severe fetal anaemia, TTTS, deteriorating Doppler, or a rapidly increasing fluid collection.
The referring clinician should contact MFM and send the original imaging today.
03Soon
Time-sensitive case review
A confirmed fetal finding needs diagnostic completion, severity assessment, or discussion of a possible intervention window.
Send reports, images, and genetic results so the team can assign the right priority.
04Planned
Second opinion and preparation
A stable finding, a candidacy question, or a need to understand options, risks, and delivery planning.
Request a structured case review with the records already available.
This algorithm supports navigation; it is not a diagnosis and does not replace instructions from the team that knows the case.
The candidacy framework
The diagnosis opens the question. It does not answer it.
Eligibility is the intersection of potential fetal benefit, maternal safety, evidence, timing, technical access, and the quality of the alternatives.
The central questionCould intervention change the outcome?
Diagnosis
Is the diagnosis secure enough to support a decision?
Severity
Is the condition progressing or threatening organ function or survival?
Timing
Is gestation within a useful and acceptable treatment window?
Maternal safety
Are maternal risks acceptable and reducible?
Feasibility
Is anatomical and technical access possible?
Alternatives
Does intervention compare favourably with observation, delivery, or postnatal care?
Why cases change:
A patient may be eligible at one gestation and not another. Repeat imaging, a genetic result, maternal illness, placental position, cervical change, or fetal deterioration can alter the balance.
Read how candidacy is assessed →The treatment spectrum
Intervention can mean four very different things.
The safest choice depends on the mechanism being treated—not on how “advanced” a procedure sounds.
Sample
CVS, amniocentesis, or fetal blood sampling to answer a diagnostic question that changes care.
Replace
Delivering compatible blood into the fetal circulation for selected severe fetal anaemia.
Drain or divert
Amnioreduction, needle drainage, or a shunt for carefully selected fluid or pressure problems.
Operate fetoscopically
Using a small scope and instruments for selected placental or fetal procedures within a governed programme.
The case-review pathway
From scan to decision—without losing the clinical story.
Good fetal therapy begins before the procedure: with the right evidence reaching the right team early enough to verify the problem and compare options.
Use the complete records checklist →- 01Send
Referral question, gestation, reports, original image loops, screening or genetic results, maternal history, and direct contact details.
- 02Verify
Confirm diagnosis, severity, progression, maternal safety, and whether urgent reassessment is needed.
- 03Compare
Discuss observation, prenatal intervention, delivery, neonatal treatment, palliative options where relevant, and uncertainty.
- 04Coordinate
Plan location, timing, consent, maternal care, anaesthesia, laboratory support, neonatology, and follow-up.
Programme architecture
A procedure is only as safe as the system around it.
Fetal intervention connects subspecialist imaging with maternal care, anaesthesia, genetics, laboratory support, neonatology, and structured follow-up.
ProcedureOne part of a system
Imaging
Diagnosis confirmation and access planning
Genetics
Test selection and result interpretation
Maternal care & anaesthesia
Safety before, during, and after the procedure
Laboratory & blood bank
Products, testing, and urgent support
Neonatology
Delivery and postnatal care planning
Follow-up
Post-procedure surveillance and escalation
Planned advanced programme
Five advanced pathways available now.
Mediclinic Airport Road Hospital in Abu Dhabi is accepting referrals now. Every intervention remains subject to diagnosis, multidisciplinary review, clinical governance, informed consent, and individual eligibility.
- Fetal transfusionFor selected severe fetal anaemia after diagnostic and blood-bank planning.
- FetoscopyA visual and operative platform used only for defined indications.
- Fetoscopic laser for TTTSFor selected monochorionic twin pregnancies after staging and counselling.
- FETOFor selected severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia within an appropriate programme.
- Fetoscopic spina bifida repairFor carefully selected cases within strict governance and multidisciplinary review.
The intervention journey
Five gates from referral to follow-up.
Each gate can confirm the plan, change it, delay it, or show that another path is safer.
- 01Reassess
Expert imaging and maternal review.
- 02Define
Diagnosis, severity, genetics, and prognosis.
- 03Consent
Benefits, uncertainties, maternal and fetal risks, alternatives.
- 04Treat
Procedure with the required clinical support.
- 05Follow
Surveillance, delivery planning, neonatal pathway.
Clinical knowledge centre
Start with the finding on the report.
Fetal anaemia
Doppler, cause, sampling, transfusion assessment, and follow-up.
TTTS and TAPS
Chorionicity-based surveillance, staging, and when the pathway changes.
Hydrops fetalis
A serious sign that requires cause-focused, time-sensitive investigation.
Treatment candidacy
How evidence, timing, maternal safety, and alternatives shape eligibility.
CVS, amniocentesis, cordocentesis
Choose the sample and test for the actual clinical question.
Urgent referral
What to send, which changes matter, and when emergency care comes first.
Verified UAE access
Diagnosis can begin locally. Therapy is centralised.
This separation matters: specialist diagnosis and referral are available across the network, while fetal therapy procedures are performed only at the Abu Dhabi hub.
Mediclinic Airport Road Hospital
UAE location for fetal therapy procedures available now, with full maternal–fetal diagnostic and referral pathways.
Abu Dhabi therapy guide →Open in Google Maps →Mediclinic Al Jowhara Hospital
Full maternal–fetal diagnostics and referral coordination. Therapy procedures are directed to Airport Road Hospital.
Open in Google Maps →Mediclinic facilities in Dubai
Diagnostic and referral pathways are available through the Mediclinic network. The appropriate facility is selected during coordination.
Ask for the right route →The referral evidence pack
Send the images—not only the report.
Original evidence allows the receiving team to verify the finding, judge change over time, and avoid repeating steps unnecessarily.
- 01Gestational age and earliest dating scan
- 02The exact referral question and current symptoms
- 03Ultrasound reports plus original image loops or DICOM files
- 04Chorionicity, fetal measurements, fluid, and Doppler
- 05Screening, genetic, infection, and relevant laboratory results
- 06Maternal conditions, medications, blood group, and antibody history
Questions families ask
Clear answers before the case review.
What is fetal therapy?
Fetal therapy is treatment performed during pregnancy for selected fetal or placental conditions when expert assessment suggests that intervention before birth may offer more benefit than observation, delivery, or postnatal treatment.
Does an abnormal scan mean my baby needs a procedure?
No. Most abnormal findings require better diagnosis, surveillance, counselling, or delivery planning rather than fetal intervention. Referral is an assessment, not a promise of treatment.
Which findings may need urgent review?
Suspected severe fetal anaemia, new or worsening hydrops, TTTS, deteriorating Doppler findings, or rapidly progressive fetal fluid collections may require urgent specialist triage. Maternal emergency symptoms require emergency care.
How is eligibility for fetal therapy decided?
The team assesses diagnosis, severity, progression, gestational age, maternal safety, technical feasibility, evidence, alternatives, and the resources needed before and after an intervention.
Where are fetal therapy procedures performed?
Therapy and procedures are available now at Mediclinic Airport Road Hospital in Abu Dhabi. Full diagnostic and referral pathways are available in Abu Dhabi and at Mediclinic Al Jowhara Hospital in Al Ain, with referral pathways through Mediclinic facilities in Dubai.
Are advanced procedures available now?
Yes. The programme is accepting referrals now for fetal transfusion, FETO, fetoscopy, fetoscopic laser ablation for TTTS, and assessment for fetoscopic spina bifida repair. Every intervention remains subject to governance, informed consent, and case-specific eligibility.
What should I send for case review?
Send gestational age and dating, the referral question, ultrasound reports and original images where possible, screening and genetic results, maternal history, medications, relevant laboratory results, and direct contact details.
Can a patient refer herself?
Yes. A patient may use the secure self-referral form. The submitted information is triaged so the appropriate team and urgency can be identified.
Emergency symptoms
Online referral is not emergency care.
Heavy bleeding, severe pain, fluid loss, reduced fetal movements, breathing difficulty, collapse, severe headache with visual symptoms, or another acute maternal concern requires immediate assessment at the nearest appropriate emergency department.
One request · specialist triage
Start with the finding you already have.
Patients may refer themselves. Referring clinicians can use the established professional pathway.