A NUMBER of research workers in obstetrics, pediatrics, physiology, hematology, pathology, internal medicine, immunology, aerospace medicine, and veterinary science are currently working on problems involving surgical approaches to the fetus in utero. To stimulate and facilitate communications between research workers interested in this new field, a small workshop conference was held in Stowe, Vermont, November 9-11, 1964. This conference was supported by a research grant (HD-01151-01) from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and was jointly sponsored by the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the Vermont State Health Department.
Three of the papers presented at this conference, and the discussion that followed their presentation, have been selected for rapid publication in this journal because of their immediate clinical interest.
The first step toward direct treatment of the human fetus has already been made. It can be anticipated that others will follow. The commonly held myth that one cannot study or treat the fetus without seriously jeopardizing survival will be examined much more critically in the future.
Who will be the physician for the fetus of the future remains to be determined. A successful answer will almost certainly require close co-operation between many specialties.