Safer Care Victoria
Ultrasound has a well-established role in optimising pregnancy outcomes for mothers and babies alike, with sonographers and radiologists playing a critical role in the provision of this care. Preterm birth (PTB) remains a leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, and ultrasound makes a substantial contribution in reducing PTB rates, through:
- Identifying women at risk of PTB by measuring the cervical length on the mid-trimester morphology scan. Many women with a short cervix on this scan have no other risk factors for PTB and would otherwise have missed the opportunity for preventative therapies such as vaginal progesterone and cervical cerclage;
- Identifying women at risk of early-onset pre-eclampsia (a major cause of iatrogenic PTB) with assessment of resistance in the maternal uterine arteries at the time of the nuchal scan, as part of combined first-trimester screening for pre-eclampsia.
This webinar will focus on the evidence, indications, techniques and practice tips for these sonographic evaluations, which are increasingly considered to be the standard of care in Australia.
Presenters
A/Prof Stefan Kane
Stefan Kane is a maternal fetal medicine subspecialist obstetrician and Director of Maternity Services at the Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne. He specialises in high-risk pregnancy care, including preterm birth prevention, multiple pregnancy, and fetal medicine, and performs tertiary-level ultrasound. His research focuses on pre-eclampsia and maternal neurological effects, with over 60 peer-reviewed publications. Stefan is a Clinical Associate Professor, an active educator, and serves as Clinical Lead for Preterm Birth with Safer Care Victoria and the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance.
A/Prof Daniel Rolnik
A/Prof Daniel Rolnik is Director of the Perinatal Care Centre at Monash Health and Associate Professor at Monash University. He completed his training in Brazil, followed by a PhD and Diploma in Fetal Medicine at King’s College Hospital, London, where he led the landmark ASPRE trial on aspirin for preeclampsia prevention. Daniel has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers, holds an MPH from Harvard, and was named Australia’s Top O&G Researcher in 2023.
1 RANZCR CPD hour may be claimed for attending the Ultrasound in Preterm Birth Prevention: Cervical Length and Uterine Artery Assessment in Pregnancy Care webinar to be held Monday 8 December 2025. In addition, the following Program Level Requirements may be claimed: Professionalism, Addressing Health Inequities, Cultural Safety, and Ethical Practice.