**4. Pregnancy surveillance**

In cases with abdominal wall defects, fetal distress was reported in 43% of cases, with an abnormal neurological outcome in 16% of them [111]. There is also the risk of still birth, reported to be 11% in cases of gastroschisis and 20% in cases of omphalocele [112]. Fetuses with gastroschisis often tend to be small for gestational age and to develop oligohydramnios [113, 114]. In such cases, the assessment of fetal weight can be difficult, as measurements of the fetal abdomen are not valid [115]. Placental insufficiency can be indirectly estimated by umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry, cardiotocography and biophysical profile. Still, intrauterine growth restriction and oligohydramnios seem not to worsen the prognosis of fetuses with gastroschisis [116]. Fetal bowel features can be also evaluated, to estimate postnatal bowel complications. A cut-off of 1 cm for bowel diameter was considered a far-seeing marker for bowel damage [117, 118]. Overall, there is not yet a consensus regarding how and when fetal monitoring during pregnancy. Because of the associated risk, recommended attitude is a careful monitoring and a monthly interval control scheme, somewhat arbitrarily chosen. In the third trimester, repeated fetal monitoring is indicated [111]. Hospital admittance was proposed at 35 weeks of gestation, as many patients with fetal AWDs deliver prematurely [112, 115].
