Ultrasound screening for fetal abnormalities is increasingly becoming
part of routine antenatal care in Europe and the UK. However, there ha
s been very little formal evaluation of this practice. In this article
reports of routine ultrasound screening are reviewed and the advantag
es and disadvantages discussed. The majority of routine anomaly scanni
ng is done in the second trimester but there may be a case for screeni
ng at other times in pregnancy and alternative anomaly screening polic
ies are discussed.