Prenatal counseling: Guidelines for the care of people with spina bifida

Paige Terrien Church; Heidi Castillo; Jonathan Castillo; Anne Berndl; Timothy Brei; Gregory Heuer; Lori J Howell; Mark Merkens

doi:10.3233/PRM-200735

Prenatal counseling: Guidelines for the care of people with spina bifida

J Pediatr Rehabil Med. 2020;13(4):461-466. doi: 10.3233/PRM-200735.

Authors

Paige Terrien Church^{1

2

1}, Heidi Castillo^{3

1}, Jonathan Castillo^{3

1}, Anne Berndl^{1

2}, Timothy Brei⁴, Gregory Heuer⁵, Lori J Howell⁶, Mark Merkens⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Newborn and Developmental Paediatrics, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital/BMC, Houston, TX, USA.
⁴ Developmental Pediatrics, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁵ Division of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁶ Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁷ Developmental Pediatrics, Portland, Oregon Health and Science University, OR, USA.

Abstract

As the diagnosis of Spina Bifida (SB) is often made prenatally, SB-specific prenatal counseling is needed. It is essential to provide information about medical care and lifelong impact of this diagnosis, treatment options available to women carrying fetuses affected, and resources that will assist in the care of individuals with SB. This article outlines the SB Prenatal Counseling Guidelines from the 2018 Spina Bifida Association's Fourth Edition of the Guidelines for the Care of People with Spina Bifida and acknowledges that further research in SB prenatal counseling is warranted.

Keywords: Spina bifida; counseling; fetal therapies; myelomeningocele; neural tube defects; prenatal care.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Counseling / methods*
Female
Humans
Practice Guidelines as Topic*
Pregnancy
Prenatal Care / methods*
Spinal Dysraphism / rehabilitation*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding