Manchester Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre
The Manchester Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre links forefront discovery science to clinical studies of normal and complicated pregnancies to improve pregnancy outcome through the translation of research findings into clinical practice. 'Bench-to-bedside' research is at the core of our current (2006-2011) five-year plan, and the progress and achievements of the projects described in the report all contribute towards this aim.
Our success is illustrated by the significant contributions to improvements in mothers' and babies' health described in the Impact Measures Report and includes major advances in the areas of prediction and early diagnosis of pregnancy conditions and management of patients and treatment of patients.
For further details, see: Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre: Impact Measures Report (PDF, 185 KB)
The need for rigorous research into these problems was, and remains, acute. Pre-eclampsia (PE) intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preterm labour (PTL) occur on a global scale of phenomenal proportions and they all greatly increase the mortality of morbidity rates for mothers and babies. Moreover, the effects of a pregnancy complicated by these conditions can last a lifetime. Offspring born to mothers with PE, IUGR or PTL have increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes or obesity in adult life.
It is estimated that $US41 billion of the developed world’s annual direct healthcare costs can be attributed to the provision of antenatal care and treatment for major pregnancy complications. In the UK alone, £4 billion is spent annually on neonatal intensive care (levels 2 and 3) needed by premature babies born to women suffering from these diseases. The indirect costs in these in utero complications – for example, the healthcare associated with long-term illness, loss of education and parents’ earnings/employment, and the provision of lifetime institutional care for children with severe disabilities – are enormous.
Facilities, staff and funding
Within the Research Centre there are laboratories dedicated to Myography (the study of how blood vessels react), Cell Culture and Molecular Biology, and Electrophysiology and within the structure of the Research Group we now enjoy the rich scientific exchange and collaboration afforded by a critical mass of more than 60 clinicians and scientists and this is reflected in the quality and quantity of the Centre’s research output over the last 12 months, our success in attracting support from the research councils and other funding bodies and the local, national and international recognition of our research and researchers.
In the first five years, after establishing the Research Centre as a national focus for pregnancy research, we made considerable progress in developing our understanding of physiology of human pregnancy and reached the stage of translating our knowledge from laboratory-based research to the clinical interface and the support from Tommy’s: the Baby Charity has been integral to our success and has provided a solid platform for the Research Centre to progress towards tackling the research challenges of the next five years.
Further information
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