Second-Trimester Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels and the Risk of Subsequent Fetal Death

FETAL deaths at ≥20 weeks of gestation now constitute a major proportion of perinatal deaths in the United States, and in some states the fetal death rate is reported to equal or exceed the neonatal death rate. 1 For this reason, increased attention is being directed to the early detection of pregnancies in which there is a risk of fetal death and to the development of strategies to prevent fetal death in these pregnancies. 2 This study examined the relation between secondtrimester measurements of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and subsequent fetal death. Screening of serum alpha-fetoprotein levels is offered to pregnant women primarily . . .