I was recently paged by a general ob/gyn colleague regarding a patient with a fetal demise. At her 20-week ultrasound, she was told the fetus had multiple abnormalities including a large cyst on its neck. This was a highly desired pregnancy, so she was devastated to learn that the fetus no longer had a heartbeat at 22 weeks. She was counseled that because of the large cyst on the neck, as well as a condition called placenta previa (placenta covering the opening of the cervix), that inducing labor was not safe.

My team was able to provide a dilation and evacuation (D&E), the same procedure used for second trimester abortions. Due to our expertise in this procedure, we were able to help the patient avoid an unnecessary C-section to deliver the no longer living fetus. This experience demonstrates the importance of abortion training and how it extends to situations other than pregnancy termination to provide patients with the safest option.