Parental scramble before birth (8)
I believe the answer is:
prenatal
'before birth' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'parental scramble' is the wordplay.
'scramble' indicates an anagram.
'parental' is an anagram of 'PRENATAL'.
(Other definitions for prenatal that I've seen before include "During pregnancy" , "Prior to birth" , "Prior to delivery" .)