Advancements in Maternal–Fetal Medicine: 3rd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Following two successful editions of this Special Issue, which focused on improving indicators of perinatal morbidity and mortality through research in maternal–fetal medicine, we are pleased to launch a third edition that further expands the diagnostic perspective on pregnancy-related conditions and obstetrical care.

Pregnancy represents a complex physiological state in which maternal, placental, and fetal adaptations interact dynamically from early gestation to delivery. Advances in prenatal diagnostics, biomarker research, imaging, and functional assessment have substantially improved the understanding and management of high-risk pregnancies, obstetrical complications, and modern therapeutic strategies. At the same time, increasing evidence indicates that psychological distress during pregnancy—including anxiety, depression, and stress-related symptoms—constitutes a significant yet often underdiagnosed contributor to adverse maternal and fetal outcomes, influencing maternal quality of life, cardiovascular and metabolic adaptation, placental function, and perinatal prognosis.

This Special Issue aims to highlight modern diagnostic approaches relevant to maternal-fetal and obstetrical medicine, in complete alignment with Diagnostics' scope. Emphasis is placed on early identification, risk stratification, and clinically applicable diagnostic tools across the continuum of pregnancy, from early placentation and prenatal diagnostics to fetal therapy and maternal–fetal complications, including the assessment of psychological and biological stress responses.

In this Special Issue, original research articles, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and well-documented case studies or case reports are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, prenatal diagnostic techniques, biomarkers of pregnancy-related complications, maternal mental health assessment, inflammatory and physiological stress signatures, and integrated diagnostic models to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes.

We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions.

Dr. Elena Bernad
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.