Update 1A: Clinical impact of reproductive ageing
Guidance on pre-conceptual care for older women before fertility treatment
Professor David Williams, Professor of Obstetric Medicine, Institute for Women’s Health, University College London, UK
Presentation learning objectives:
- ‘Biological age’ is a better barometer of pregnancy outcome than ‘chronological age’.
- Previous pregnancy outcome (< 5 years) is a good guide to future pregnancy outcomes.
- Pre-pregnancy cardiovascular and metabolic health are the most important assessments before IVF.
- Chronic disease and chronic medicine use are important specific factors that dictate fitness for pregnancy.
Professor David Williams is a consultant obstetric physician at University College Hospital London. He specialises in the care of pregnant women with medical disorders and his research group investigates the causes and treatment of pregnancy syndromes.
He leads multi-disciplinary obstetric clinics and has particular expertise in the management of pregnant women with kidney disease and hypertension.
His research team investigates the causes and treatment of gestational syndromes in particular pre-eclampsia, hyperemesis gravidarum and acute fatty liver of pregnancy. He has developed the concept that pregnancy syndromes unmask future health disorders in the mother and her family. His team also investigates the cause and treatment of recurrent pregnancy loss due to placental inflammation. They are funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), UCL/UCLH Biomedical Research Centre and Wellbeing of Women.
Professor Williams chaired the NICE guidelines for the intrapartum management of medical disorders and is chairman of the Wellbeing of Women Charity Research Advisory Committee. He is a member of the UK Independent Advisory Group on maternal morbidity and mortality and is part of a national team to implement new clinical maternal medicine networks throughout the UK.
Obstetric management of older and medically complex women
Professor Asma Khalil, Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Asma Khalil is a Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine. She is the Obstetric Lead at the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA). She gained her MD at the University of London in 2008. She also has a Master’s degree in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Prof. Asma Khalil has published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, and many published review articles and chapters. She was awarded many research prizes, both at national and international meetings. She was awarded the 2021 FIGO Women’s Awards: Recognising Female Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Her research interests include twin pregnancy, fetal growth restriction and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.
She had a fellowship with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE). committed to the implementation of clinical guidelines in practice. She is the Lead author of the ISUOG guideline on the role of ultrasound in twins. She also led the guideline team developing the FIGO guideline on twin pregnancies. She was a member of the NICE Guideline Committee updating the Twin and Multiple Pregnancy guidance.