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INTERGROWTH-21st

INTERGROWTH-21st course on maternal, fetal and newborn growth monitoring

The fifth online training course in the field of maternal and perinatal health by MHTF/OMPHI/GFMER/TGHN

An interactive course for health professionals

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INTERGROWTH-21st Project

The International Fetal and Newborn Growth Consortium for the 21st Century, or INTERGROWTH-21st, is a global, multidisciplinary network of more than 300 researchers and clinicians from 27 institutions in 18 countries worldwide and coordinated from the University of Oxford; dedicated to improving perinatal health globally and committed to reducing the millions of preventable newborn deaths that occur as a result of preterm birth or poor intrauterine growth. 

In order to meet this goal, international growth standards to measure and improve maternal and newborn clinical care, and compare outcomes across populations are needed. Such standards exist to monitor the growth of infants and children. They are the WHO Child Growth Standards, and their release in 2006 was a landmark achievement. These scientifically based standards are now used worldwide.

However, the fetal and newborn counterpart has been missing, which led to the implementation of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project. The aim was to extend the WHO Child Growth Standards into the fetal and neonatal period, providing tools for continuity of care from conception to 5 years of age.

The INTERGROWTH-21st Consortium implemented three population-based studies using standardized methods, and clinical and research protocols. They gathered a rich body of data on health, growth and nutrition from pregnancy to early infancy from close to 60,000 women and newborns across five continents, making the INTERGROWTH-21st Project the largest collaborative venture in the field of perinatal health research to-date.

The resulting data provide unique insights into growth and development for the 21st century. The findings also provide new ways of classifying preterm and small for gestational age newborns. In addition, the INTERGROWTH-21st Consortium have produced a new international equation for estimating gestational age through ultrasound early in pregnancy based on the first international crown-rump length standards, and they have developed the resources necessary for enabling the adoption and scale-up of these tools at all levels of the health care system.

Partners

Advisory group

  • Ana Langer, MD
    Director, Women and Health Initiative / Director, Maternal Health Task Force / Professor of the Practice of Public Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, US
  • José Villar, MD, MPH, MSc, FRCOG
    Professor of Perinatal Medicine, Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, UK
  • Aldo Campana, MD
    Emeritus Professor, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva / Director, Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Switzerland

Editorial team

  • Leila Cheikh Ismail, MS, PhD
    Project Leader INTERGROWTH-21st, Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, University of Oxford | John Radcliffe Hospital Level 3, Women's Centre Headington OX3 9DU, Oxford, UK
  • Raqibat Idris, MBBS
    Technical Officer,Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Switzerland
  • Fabien A. Puglia, PhD
    Research Assistant | INTERGROWTH-21st Project, Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, University of Oxford | John Radcliffe Hospital Women's Centre, Level 3 OX3 9DU, Oxford, UK
  • Aris Papageorgiou, MRCOG
    Ass. Professor of Fetal medicine Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, Clinical research director, OMPHI, University of Oxford | John Radcliffe Hospital Women's Centre, Level 3 OX3 9DU, Oxford, UK
  • Jane Hirst, MD
    Nuffield Medical Fellow, Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Oxford, Level 3, Women's Centre John Radcliffe Hospital Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
  • Karim Abawi, MD, MSc
    Project Manager, Education & Research, Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Switzerland

Application developers

  • Liam Boggs
    Training Manager, The Global Health Network Centre for Tropical Medicine & Global Health, University of Oxford, UK
  • Karen Bird
    Training Assistant, The Global Health Network Centre for Tropical Medicine & Global Health, University of Oxford, UK

About the development of this course

The development of this course was motivated by the commitment of the INTERGROWTH-21st Consortium to improving perinatal health globally. The objective of the course is to communicate the methodology of maternal, fetal and newborn growth monitoring and the application of the INTERGROWTH-21st international growth standards to make judgement about appropriateness of growth. This module “Assessing newborn size by anthropometry” is the first of modules that will be developed to fulfil this objective. In response to the need for guidance on the correct measurement technique for newborn head circumference and an international prescriptive standard for comparisons, with the ongoing ZIKA virus infection, the newborn module is published earlier than the other modules. The remaining modules will be published gradually, very soon.

How to get the most from the course

Thank you for taking this course. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful. You are required to make an account, using your email and a password, with the Global Health Network in order to access the modules and take the quizzes. We have integrated a number of knowledge tests within each module to ensure interactive involvement from each participant. Follow the instructions on the screen and click all the relevant links so you do not miss out on anything!

In each module you will find a link to key documents & tools and articles if you click on the reference button.

The last part of each module is the knowledge assessment “Final Quiz”. You are invited to complete the final quiz. The participants who correctly answer at least 80% of the multiple choice questions are entitled to a course certificate from the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the University of Oxford, Harvard Maternal Health Taskforce, The Global Health Network and the Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Course contents

Access the Course go to course

The modules are also available in PDF format:

The following videos are available on YouTube:

Training courses on Assessing Newborn Growth by Anthropometry and Preterm Infant Feeding and Growth Monitoring have been held in the following sites: