title: Nonaggressive obstetric management. An option for some fetal anomalies during the third trimester.
abstract: Nonaggressive obstetric management was used in 13 cases of anomalous fetuses during the third trimester. Criteria that define these anomalies are (1) a very high probability of a correct diagnosis and (2) either (a) a very high probability of death as an outcome of the anomaly diagnosed or (b) a very high probability of severe and irreversible deficit of cognitive developmental capacity as a result of the anomaly diagnosed. On the basis of two approaches to obstetric ethics, we defend the legitimacy of nonaggressive management of third-trimester pregnancies complicated by fetal anomalies that meet these criteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, NY 10021.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Chervenak
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: McCullough
mesh_terms: D026686:Beneficence; D001927:Brain Diseases; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D030881:Disclosure; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007258:Informed Consent; D028681:Moral Obligations; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000379:methods*; D018579:Patient Selection; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D037841:Pregnant People; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D028761:Withholding Treatment