Reproductive failure is relatively common in humans compared with other mammalian species that have been studied. In young couples that are trying to conceive, the fecundity rate, (probability of achieving a clinically recognised pregnancy within a monthly cycle) is about 25%. The major cause of implantation failure in humans after both in vivo and in vitro fertilisation is now thought to be the high incidence of chromosomal abnormality.

The aetiology of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLH) is complex and involves both genetic and environmental factors. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome accounts for 1.4–3.8% of all congenital heart defects but up to 25% of neonatal deaths. As well as having a high mortality, HLH is a very significant cause of morbidity and therefore justifies aetiological investigation.

Traditionally, the maternal mortality ratio has been used as a measure of the quality of maternity care and review of individual cases of maternal death has provided information for professional learning in order to improve patient care. In the United Kingdom, this process of multidisciplinary review has been carried out for over 50 years in the form of the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths (CEMD). The Confidential Enquiry is well respected internationally and has been used as a model for confidential enquiries in other countries, such as South Africa.

Although three-dimensional ultrasound (3DUS) was already being used in the early 1980's and the first commercially available three-dimensional scanner was presented in 1989 in Paris at the International Radiology Congress, it has only been in the recent decade that the technology has found its way into clinical applications. This rapid development is mainly due to the equally rapid development of computer processor technology, essential for three-dimensional ultrasound. Originally used as a tool for creating a surface mode showing the face of the fetus and gender abnormalities, its application has become much broader nowadays. The technique is now becoming ever more important in obstetrics and gynecology, but also in many other fields such as cardiology, surgical applications and urology. Three-dimensional ultrasound is an easy, quick and cheap imaging technique without any known adverse effects on the mother or developing fetus as has been stated by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM). In addition, it has been reported by numerous authors to be very accurate in assessing volumes. Recently, it has been suggested that both two- and three-dimensional ultrasound, especially in the 1st and 2nd trimester, are of positive influence in initiating the bonding between mother and infant.