Antenatal counselling for prospective parents whose fetus has a neurological anomaly: part 2, risks of adverse outcome in common anomalies

• Published in: Developmental medicine and child neurology 2022-01, Vol.64 (1), p.23-39
• Main Authors: Hart, Anthony R, Vasudevan, Chakra, Griffiths, Paul D, Foulds, Nicola, Piercy, Hilary, de Lacy, Patricia, Boxall, Sally, Howe, David, Vollmer, Brigitte
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brain - abnormalities; Counseling; Female; Humans; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Nervous System Malformations - diagnostic imaging; Parents; Pregnancy; Prenatal Diagnosis
• ISSN: 0012-1622; 1469-8749; 1469-8749
• DOI: 10.1111/dmcn.15043

After diagnosis of a fetal neurological anomaly, prospective parents want to know the best and worst‐case scenarios and an estimation of the risk to their infant of having an atypical developmental outcome. The literature on developmental outcomes for fetal neurological anomalies is poor: studies are characterized by retrospective design, small sample size, often no standardized assessment of development, and differing definitions of anomalies. This review provides an aide‐memoir on the risks of adverse neurodevelopmental outcome for ventriculomegaly, cortical anomalies, microcephaly, macrocephaly, agenesis of the corpus callosum, posterior fossa anomalies, and myelomeningocele, to assist healthcare professionals in counselling. The data in this review should be used alongside recommendations on counselling and service design described in part 1 to provide antenatal counselling. This invited review is commented by Ferrand and Racine on page 6 of this issue.