Foetal therapy aims to improve perinatal survival or to prevent severe long-term handicap. Foetal medicine opens a new territory by treating the foetus as a patient. The mother has nothing to gain in terms of health benefits, yet she is inherently also undergoing treatment. In utero foetal interventions can be divided into ultrasound-guided minimally invasive procedures, fetoscopic procedures and open hysterotomy procedures, which carry an inherent risk of ruptured membranes and preterm birth. In this review, we summarise the conditions that may benefit from foetal therapy and review the current therapies on offer, each with their associated risk of ruptured membrane and preterm birth. We also look into some risk limiting and preventative strategies to mitigate these complications.

胎儿疗法旨在改善围产期生存或预防严重的长期残疾。胎儿医学通过将胎儿视为患者而开辟了新领域。母亲的健康益处无济于事，但她本身也正在接受治疗。在子宫内，胎儿的干预措施可分为超声引导的微创手术，胎儿镜手术和开放式子宫切开术，这些手术固有的风险是胎膜破裂和早产。在这篇综述中，我们总结了可能受益于胎儿疗法的疾病，并综述了目前提供的疗法，每种疗法都具有与胎膜破裂和早产相关的风险。我们还研究了一些风险限制和预防策略来减轻这些并发症。