ObjectiveDesign Retrospective study. SettingPopulation A consecutive series of 956 terminations of pregnancy performed for fetal anomalies in singleton pregnancies, 305 of which were in the third trimester and 651 in the second. Main outcome measuresIndications for termination of pregnancy; process leading to late termination of pregnancy; maternal morbidity. ResultsOne hundred and thirteen (37%) third trimester terminations of pregnancy were associated with false negative resulted from the results of earlier screening tests. In 15 terminations (5%), the decision was postponed, although the poor fetal prognosis was established earlier. In 55 (1 8%) the diagnosis was not possible earlier than the third trimester, and in 122 (40%) the diagnosis was possible earlier but the poor prognosis for the fetus was not established until the third trimester. Maternal morbidity due to termination of pregnancy was similar in the second and third trimester.Conclusion One-third of late terminations of pregnancy could have been avoided by more efficient screening in the second trimester. However, because fetal prognosis is not always clear when a malformation is diagnosed, postponing the decision until fetal development allows more thorough evaluation and may avoid unnecessary termination of pregnancy in the second trimester. This could be the main beneficial aspect of not setting a limit to the gestational age for performing termination of pregnancy.To analyse the process in making decisions leading to termination of pregnancy in the third trimester and to evaluate the maternal morbidity associated with this procedure.

Systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and blood glucose concentration were measured in the first three days of life in 10 infants born to mothers who had received acebutolol, a cardioselective beta-adrenergic-blocking agent, for hypertension in pregnancy and compared with values in 10 infants whose mothers had received methyldopa. The blood pressure was expressed as a percentage of the expected value. Blood pressure was significantly lower in the infants of the mothers given acebutolol (p <0 02, <0 01, and < 0 01 respectively during the three days of observation). Heart rate was also lower, but the significance was only at the 0-05 level. Blood glucose was not significantly different between the two groups.These results suggest that care should be taken in prescribing beta-adrenergic-blocking drugs during pregnancy.

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