Obstetric cholestasis

Sands is funding a research study into understanding the management of pregnancies with obstetric cholestasis (OC) through the Wellbeing of Women, the charity funding arm of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. OC is a liver disorder which occurs in 1 in 200 pregnancies and which can be fatal for the baby. The project is the work of Imperial College London who will be using data collected by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU) in Oxford, about pregnancy complications, including OC. The team, led by Professor Catherine Williamson, will look at ways of predicting which OC pregnancies are most likely to end in stillbirth and the best protocols for preventing deaths in this high-risk group. The study will report on its findings in 2013.

For more information about obstetric cholestasis, go to www.ocsupport.org.uk