Neurosurgical input at pre-natal counselling for parents of babies with Spina bifida.

Prenatal counselling can be helpful to parents in making a decision with regard to continuation of the pregnancy or to help prepare for the birth and the future life of a child with Spina bifida. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of our specialist neuro counselling sessions and to highlight areas that could be improved upon. This was in the form of a questionnaire given to parents, who had been through the counselling and continued with their pregnancy. The areas highlighted for improvement were more explicit information about urinary catheterisation, the need for admission to the special care baby unit (SCBU) and the need for an information leaflet on Spina bifida.