title: Prenatal counseling tools for the pediatric radiologist as part of a multidisciplinary team.
abstract: Fetal abnormalities are present in 3-5% of all pregnancies, leading to increased anxiety and the need for important discussions between patients and their care providers. Regardless of the severity of the anomaly, receiving the information can be traumatic for the pregnant patient and her partner. Most physicians who aren't trained to provide prenatal counseling understandably feel uncomfortable with the uncertainty and complex issues that arise in such high-stress counseling sessions. Genetic counselors are specifically trained to counsel patients in the setting of a fetal abnormality; however additional input from pediatric radiologists and other pediatric specialists is invaluable to parents in these situations and such input is an essential part of a team approach to prenatal counseling. The goal of this article is to provide a basic approach to counseling in the prenatal setting for pediatric radiologists and other specialists.
authors.affiliation: Fetal Medicine Institute, Children's National Health System, 111 Michigan Ave. NW, Suite M3118, Washington, DC, 20010, USA.
authors.forename: Anne K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.affiliation: Fetal Medicine Institute, Children's National Health System, 111 Michigan Ave. NW, Suite M3118, Washington, DC, 20010, USA. mmenzel@childrensnational.org.|Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA. mmenzel@childrensnational.org.
authors.forename: Margaret B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Menzel
authors.affiliation: Division of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology, Childrens National Health Systems, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Dorothy I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Bulas
mesh_terms: D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005817:Genetic Counseling / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D011871:Radiology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States
keywords: Fetal abnormality; Fetal medicine; High-risk pregnancy; Prenatal counseling
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