Key result
Among 188 pregnancies with fetal cardiac disease, 63 were interrupted and 125 continued, with decisions influenced by malformation severity, ethnicity, gestational age, and chromosomal abnormalities.
Why the study?
What factors influence parental decision-making regarding pregnancy continuation or interruption following a diagnosis of fetal cardiac disease?
Observational (n=188)
Yes
What factors influence parental decision-making regarding pregnancy continuation or interruption following a diagnosis of fetal cardiac disease?
Parental decision-making following a fetal cardiac disease diagnosis is significantly influenced by the severity of the malformation, parental ethnicity, gestational age at diagnosis, and chromosomal abnormalities.
May guide individualized counseling after fetal cardiac diagnosis; leaves open whether interventions reduce disparities in continuation rates.
OBJECTIVE: To identify factors influencing parental decision when a fetal cardiac disease is diagnosed. METHOD: All pregnancies with fetal cardiac abnormalities diagnosed at three academic hospitals of Marseille, France, between 2004 and 2008, were retrospectively studied. The association between maternal and fetal variables (maternal age, parity, ethnicity, gestational age at diagnosis, nuchal translucency, fetal gender, chromosomal and extra cardiac abnormalities, and severity of the cardiopathy) and parental decision was tested using univariate and multivariate statistical methods RESULTS: One hundred eighty-eight cases of fetal cardiac disease were analysed, of which 63 were interrupted pregnancies (IP) and 125 continued pregnancies (CP). Four factors were important in the parental decision-making process: the severity of cardiac malformation, the ethnic origin of the parents, the gestational age at diagnosis and the chromosomal abnormalities. CONCLUSION: Counselling of parents following the diagnosis of a congenital heart disease should take into account that, in addition of the severity of the congenital heart disease (CHD), ethnicity, gestational age at diagnosis and chromosomal abnormalities influence parental decision regarding pregnancy continuation or interruption.
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Chenni et al. (2012) conducted an observational in fetal cardiac disease (n=188). Maternal and fetal variables (severity of malformation, ethnicity, gestational age, chromosomal abnormalities) was evaluated on parental decision (interrupted vs continued pregnancy). Among 188 pregnancies with fetal cardiac disease, 63 were interrupted and 125 continued, with decisions influenced by malformation severity, ethnicity, gestational age, and chromosomal abnormalities.
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