Echoes of change Transformations in prenatal screening and management of congenital thoraco-abdominal anomalies

‘Echoes of change’ reflects the rapidly evolving landscape of prenatal screening and perinatal management, in which the goal is to inform future parents about possible congenital anomalies (both structural and chromosomal/genetic anomalies), to offer reproductive autonomy and to optimize perinatal outcomes. Congenital anomalies remain a major global health concern, as it affects 2-3% of all live births, and on average one in three children with congenital anomalies requires surgical intervention during infancy.
Simultaneously, expanding screening options introduce increasing complexity. Rising uptake of counseling, aneuploidy and ultrasound screening underscores societal expectations, yet also highlights persistent challenges: variable predictive values, psychological burden associated with unexpected findings, and difficulty for future parents to fully appreciate the implications of screening in an era of rapidly growing diagnostic possibilities.
The first part of this thesis focuses on how modifications to the prenatal screening program have influenced the timing and accuracy of anomaly detection, whereas the second part describes the clinical outcomes and suggestions for management strategies in fetuses prenatally diagnosed with thoracic and abdominal anomalies.