Last Update: 08/16/2006 Printer Friendly Printer Friendly   Email This Page Email This Page  

Maternal-Fetal Surgery Network

MOMS logoIn 2001, the NICHD Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch created the Maternal Fetal Surgery Network to evaluate in utero surgery as a treatment for antenatally diagnosed spina bifida in a randomized clinical trial.

The Management of Meningomyelocele Study (MOMS) trial includes three sites: the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and the University of California at San Francisco. The Branch provides additional oversight and guidance, and the George Washington Biostatistics Center serves as the data center for the Network. This collaborative, five-year, multicenter trial is comparing the safety and efficacy of fetal surgical repair and traditional postnatal repair of open neural tube defects. For more information on the MOMS trial or on the Network, visit http://www.spinabifidamoms.com/english/index.html.