MULTIFETAL PREGNANCY REDUCTION - A REVIEW OF AN EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY AND ITS PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Multifetal pregnancy reduction is the elective termination of gestatio n of a preselected number of fetuses in a multiple pregnancy to improv e perinatal outcome. As improved techniques of infertility treatment a re yielding more high-order multiple gestations, multifetal pregnancy reduction is being performed more frequently. The authors review the a bundant literature on technique, the moderate amount of literature on ethics, and the minimal literature on the psychological consequences o f this procedure, and describe the experience of the patients and thei r partners. The complexities of studying this area are discussed. Besi des management of psychiatric complications, liaison psychiatrists cou ld play an active role in structuring multifetal pregnancy reduction p rograms to optimize counseling and the patients' experience.