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Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality
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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 :
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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
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Pregnancy & children
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Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality
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3-4 years since pregnancy ended
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Interview 32
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Says he didn't know what to do with the diagnosis initially and describes how he and his wife eventually reached their decision.
His wife's 3rd pregnancy: 20-week scan detected anomalies - baby's kidneys and stomach couldn't be seen. Specialist scan revealed baby had multiple abnormalities; parents agreed to amniocentesis which confirmed baby's problems were not inherited. Pregnancy ended at 22 weeks by induction. Since termination he and his wife (EAP07) have had another baby.
Pregnancy & children
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Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality
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3-4 years since pregnancy ended
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Interview 07
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Results from her baby's post mortem showed the baby wouldn't have survived for long and so she felt she had been right to end the pregnancy.
Her 3rd pregnancy: 20-week scan detected anomalies - baby's kidneys and stomach couldn't be seen. Specialist scan revealed baby had multiple abnormalities; parents agreed to amniocentesis which confirmed baby's problems were not inherited. Pregnancy ended at 22 weeks by induction. She has since had another baby.
Pregnancy & children
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Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality
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3-4 years since pregnancy ended
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Interview 05
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She wondered with hindsight whether the consultants had given her an entirely balanced presentation of her baby's problems.
Her 2nd pregnancy: 20-week scan detected neural tube defect. Specialist scan confirmed encephalocoele. Pregnancy ended at 23 weeks by feticide and induction. Post mortem identified Walker-Warburg syndrome - a genetic abnormality. 3rd pregnancy: nuchal scan revealed baby had anomalies, and by 19 weeks scan showed hydrocephalus. Pregnancy ended at 20 weeks by induction. Walker-Warburg syndrome identified at post mortem. Both parents are carriers of recessive gene. 4th child born in 2004.
Pregnancy & children
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Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality
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3-4 years since pregnancy ended
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Interview 31
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They feel that their baby would have had no quality of life so they have no doubts about ending the pregnancy.
Mother's 1st pregnancy (father's 4th - he has 3 children from previous marriage). IVF pregnancy, some bleeding, 8-week dating scan at IVF clinic. 12-week scan no problems found. 20-week scan detected choroid plexus cysts (soft markers for Edwards' syndrome). Specialist cardiac scan indicated heart defects- sent for amniocentesis. Pregnancy ended at 22 weeks by feticide and induction. They have had another baby since termination.
Pregnancy & children
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Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality
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5-7 years since pregnancy ended
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Interview 22
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When she was told her baby's condition (Edwards' syndrome) was 'incompatible with life' she felt there was no choice but to end the pregnancy.
Her 1st pregnancy: some bleeding and sickness, scan at 7 weeks confirmed pregnancy. 12-week scan normal. Triple test at 19 weeks, found raised AFP levels. 20-week scan identified hole in baby's heart and shortened limbs. Specialist scan found 2 holes in heart and abnormalities in limbs, bowel and brain- sent for amniocentesis. Pregnancy ended by induction at 21 weeks. She has had another baby since termination.
Pregnancy & children
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Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality
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1-2 years since pregnancy ended
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Interview 18
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Being told that her baby's condition was 'incompatible with life' made the decision easier to live with.
Her 1st pregnancy (through IVF). 6-week scan at fertility clinic. Had nuchal scan done privately at 12 weeks. Baby found to have anencephaly. Pregnancy ended surgically at 12 weeks. She has had another baby since termination.
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