Planned birth at term reduces the incidence of pre-eclampsia in women at high risk of the condition, without increasing emergency Caesarean or neonatal unit admission, according to new trial results. Women were randomly allocated into one of two groups: the intervention group (risk assessment for pre-eclampsia, followed by planned early term delivery according to risk) and the control group (usual care at term). Pre-eclampsia risk was assessed using a model developed by the FMF, which combines maternal demographics and history, with blood pressure, and specific markers in the blood. Those at high risk of developing pre-eclampsia at term were offered planned birth at 37, 38, 39 or 40 weeks of pregnancy. Professor Kypros Nicolaides, founder and chairman of the Fetal Medicine Foundation, and senior author of the paper, said: “A 30% reduction in term pre-eclampsia, from 5.6% to 3.9%, is very important.