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Updated: May 27, 2026

Mouse Model of Surgical Uterine Injury and Subsequent Pregnancy Outcomes
Published on: June 27, 2025
Characteristics of women who undergo second-trimester abortion in the setting of a fetal anomaly
Jennifer L Kerns1, Megan Swanson, Sherri Pena
1Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA. kernsjl@obgyn.ucsf.edu
Background:
Most women diagnosed with a fetal anomaly terminate the pregnancy. Little is known about utilization of two procedures: dilation and evacuation (D&E) and induction termination.
Study Design:
This retrospective cohort study included all women seen at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Prenatal Diagnosis Center (PDC) who underwent a second-trimester abortion for an anomalous pregnancy from 2005 to 2008. We abstracted variables from the PDC database and medical charts to identify predictors associated with undergoing D&E.
Results:
Three quarters of the 192 women underwent D&E (n=148). Higher maternal age, proximity to UCSF, earlier gestational age, singleton gestation and genetic anomaly were associated with undergoing D&E. In adjusted analysis, earlier gestational age and singleton gestation were associated with undergoing D&E.
Conclusions:
The D&E procedure was more commonly utilized for terminating an anomalous pregnancy at UCSF than medical induction. Further inquiry is needed to explore how provider counseling influences the choice of D&E vs. induction.
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