[Ultrasonic prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies: the impact on medical management during pregnancy].

Three women, aged 30, 18 and 37 years respectively, were diagnosed during the course of their pregnancies with congenital anomalies that carry a high risk of mortality and morbidity, namely a neural tube defect, gastroschisis and trisomy 22. All 3 women chose to continue their pregnancy and received various forms of counselling concerning the differences between the estimated prognoses. For the first patient, the emphasis was explaining the consequences of the disease for the unborn child and the parents and how the resulting handicaps could be minimised by medical treatment. For the second patient, the treatment plan was deliberately curative, and regrettably this failed. For the third patient, the attending physician guided the parents through their future loss and supported them during their period of mourning.