Abstract
The purpose of this study was to research the problems of prenatal ultrasonic diagnosis and aid families which have a cleft lip fetus. The term of the study was about 7 years starting in 1991. There were 207 subjects and those with cleft lip amounted to 152. And we counseled or advised 11 families before birth.
We obtained the following results.
1. Of 152 fetuses with cleft lip,38 were detected using ultrasonic diagnosis.27 families (71.1%) out of the 38 were informed before birth that their child had cleft lip.
2. After detecting the cleft lip, obstetricians selected one out of three informing about the cleft lip. The first was not to inform before birth, and the second to inform only before birth. The third was to inform and then contact the support team. For 21 families (77.8% of 27) the second case was selected.
3. We counseled 8 families at a personal interview before birth.
4. In the third case, within 1 week we gave counsel after informing the parents of the cleft lip of their child.
5. In the 11 cases we aided, each family had their own problem to be solved. We believe that the purpose of ultrasonic diagnosis must be to aid with respect to the birth. For this purpose we must counsel with love and sympathy as soon as possible after information of the cleft lip.
