Prenatal diagnosis of cerebral anomalies: can we share the doubt?

As prenatal screening by ultrasound has become a common way to diagnose malformations, practitioners have to answer difficult questions about precise diagnosis and prognosis. In the particular field of brain malformations three conditions can be encountered 1) the malformation is severe (anencephaly) or 2) benign (mild ventriculomegaly) : in that cases information is much less thaneasymuch greater than to provide as diagnosis and/or prognosis are well known. The most difficult situation is when 3) a malformation has an uncertain outcome, the best example being corpus callosum agenesis. What message should be conveyed by health professionals who know how uncertain is the prognosis? In other words has doubt concerning outcome to be shared with parents in order to provide an up-to-date and accurate description of the condition? (C) 2002 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.