[A critical analysis of the present state of recognizing the fetal hazard in pregnancy, via hormonal determinations (author's transl)].

The experience published in medical literature on the pregnancy hormones HPL and estrogens, is subjected to a critical review. The reported studies are examined in detail, first of all, with regard to the performance of the pregnancy hormones in fetal risk situations, taking certain pregnancy complications into account. The ranking of these paremeters in arriving at obstetric decisions in fetal emergency situations, is then described. This is followed by an assessment of the importance of the pregnancy hormones as prognostic parameters for forecasting fetal hazard in cases where pregnancy appears to have taken an uneventful courese, basing on few results available to date. All findings indicate that biochemical monitoring during pregnancy contributes toward individualization of the obstetric decisions.