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Updated: Sep 21, 2026
Murine Fetal Echocardiography
Published on: February 15, 2013
[Between mother and child--early fetal diagnosis as a routine in antenatal care]
1Institutt for samfunnsmedisinske fag Universitetet i Trondheim.
The development of high-resolution real-time ultrasound has created the opportunity to identify fetal congenital anomalies. Making this technique part of a screening activity must be based on the belief that early identification and early care will have a favourable impact on the natural history of the disease. This is not the case when pregnancies are screened in the second trimester to detect malformations. On the contrary; in Norway, this might lead to the yearly elimination of 300 desired fetuses. Some of these would otherwise have had a longer intrauterine life, some might have benefited from postnatal medical treatment and some might otherwise have been born as healthy children instead of being eliminated due to misclassification.
The development of high-resolution real-time ultrasound has created the opportunity to identify fetal congenital anomalies. Making this technique part of a screening activity must be based on the belief that early identification and early care will have a favourable impact on the natural history of the disease. This is not the case when pregnancies are screened in the second trimester to detect malformations. On the contrary; in Norway, this might lead to the yearly elimination of 300 desired fetuses. Some of these would otherwise have had a longer intrauterine life, some might have benefited from postnatal medical treatment and some might otherwise have been born as healthy children instead of being eliminated due to misclassification.
