Subject index - Patients, family and professional experience of health and illness... all in one place : Healthtalkonline

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The baby and the diagnosis :
Feelings about the pregnancy
Early scans and blood tests
Diagnostic tests - amnio and CVS
The 18-20 week scan and further tests
Understanding the baby's diagnosis

Deciding to end the pregnancy :
Looking for information and support
Ending the pregnancy for the baby's sake
Ending the pregnancy for family & personal reasons
Finding out how the pregnancy will end
The impact of the decision

Ending the pregnancy :
Signing the consent form
Ending the pregnancy surgically
Ending the pregnancy by induction
Going through labour and birth
Deciding whether to see, hold and name the baby
Photographs and other mementoes of the baby
Treatment, care and communication

Losing the baby :
Leaving hospital and going home
Deciding whether to have a post-mortem
Saying goodbye to the baby - sevices & funerals
Coping with bereavement - women's experiences
Coping with bereavement - men's experiences

The effects of ending a pregnancy :
Counselling and other kinds of support
Support groups
Deciding whether to have another baby
Men's ideas about their role in ending a pregnancy

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Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality

Subject index

Mother of 2 children (1st and 3rd pregnancies). 2nd pregnancy: 20-week scan detected anomalies. Sent for specialist scan, baby diagnosed with holoprosencephaly. Amniocentesis. Pregnancy ended by induction at 21 weeks. She experienced post-natal depression. Sent for genetic counselling. 4th pregnancy: 12-week scan anomalies detected - baby diagnosed with anencephaly. Pregnancy ended surgically at 13 weeks. She had gynaecological problems following termination. She was pregnant at time of interview.

Publication date: January 2006 Last updated: August 2010

Review date: August 2012

Discovery of a fetal abnormality may lead to the decision to terminate a pregnancy. We interviewed 40 people (including some male partners) about their experiences of ending a pregnancy for this reason. Select from the key topics below, choose from the full list of topics, or explore all the interviews.

Pregnancy & children >> Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality >> Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality

Publication date: January 2006 Last updated: August 2010

Review date: August 2012

Pregnancy & children >> Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality >> 1-2 years since pregnancy ended >> Interview 17 >> Seeing the legal paperwork made her feel as if she had done something wrong.

After birth of first child she had 3 miscarriages. 4th pregnancy did not 'feel right'. Nuchal scan arranged privately, baby was small for dates. Had two more scans to investigate baby's size and due date. Specialist scan at 21 weeks, then heart scan and then amniocentesis. Doctors suspected diaphragmatic hernia but amnio identified chromosomal abnormality (Wolf Hirschhorn syndrome). Pregnancy was ended by feticide and induction at 24 weeks. (Since the interview she has had another baby.)

Pregnancy & children >> Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality >> 5-7 years since pregnancy ended >> Interview 26 >> She made the nurses add the phrase 'for fetal abnormality' to the word 'termination' on her consent form.

She had 2 normal pregnancies, despite endometriosis, before 3rd pregnancy. 3rd pregnancy: 12-week scan detected problems with baby's heart and kidneys. Specialist scans - cardiac scan confirmed baby's heart undeveloped. CVS found no genetic cause. Pregnancy ended surgically at 14 weeks. She experienced gynaecological complications after termination.

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