Maternale complicaties bij hydrops foetalis

- Three women, aged 28, 27 and 25 years, two primigravidae and one woman who had given birth to a hydropic child previously, had four pregnancies with hydrops of the foetus and the placenta: two (in the same patient) due to foetal cardiomyopathy and two with foetal heart block. The patients developed severe oedema and pre-eclampsia. After the delivery they recovered well. Since the introduction of anti-D rhesus immunoprophylaxis, foetal hydrops has become less frequent. The resulting maternal complications (the maternal hydrops syndrome and enlarged polycystic ovaries) are therefore less well-known. Serious maternal complications occur in around 50 of cases of foetal hydrops. Careful monitoring of the maternal condition in cases of foetal hydrops is therefore warranted.