title: Termination of pregnancy due to fetal abnormalities performed after 32 weeks' gestation: survey of 57 fetuses from a single medical center.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess fetal abnormalities leading to very late termination of pregnancy (VLTOP) performed after 32 weeks' gestation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population included all pregnant women with singleton pregnancy that underwent VLTOP in our institute because of fetal indications between the years 1998 and 2015.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-seven cases (2.0%) were at ≥32 weeks' gestation and are the subjects of the current study. Our VLTOP cases were subdivided into four categories according to the sequence of events that led to the decision for VLTOP: (1) No routine prenatal screening with an incidental fetal finding discovered after 32 weeks' gestation (9 fetuses ∼16%); (2) Routine early prenatal care raised suspicion of abnormalities, and the final diagnosis was established by additional tests (8 fetuses, ∼14%); (3) Developmental findings detected during the third trimester (21 fetuses; ∼37%), and (4) fetal abnormalities that could have been detected earlier during pregnancy (19 fetuses; ∼33%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The two categories in which the pregnant women did not underwent any fetal evaluation (i.e. group 1) or those that could have been detected earlier (i.e. group 4) consists ∼49% from our cohort in which VLTOP could have been avoided.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Noa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Yaakov
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Melcer
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hod
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Orna
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Levinsohn-Tavor
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Svirsky
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zerifin, affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maymon
mesh_terms: D000025:Abortion, Eugenic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D005333:Fetus / Q000002:abnormalities*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Anomaly scan; chromosomal abnormalities; fetal anomalies; third-trimester termination of pregnancy