The decision of the termination of the pregnancy at second trimester or later in an ethical context: With a research regarding the obstetricians and pediatricians attitudes

Decision-making regarding the termination of the pregnancy in the second trimester or later, is a difficult process which requires to make a choice between the conflicting values. Perinatologists face ethical dilemmas in the decision-making process regarding the termination of the pregnancy. Foundings of the perinatal diagnostics, such as possible or actual fetal anomalies which can be life-threatening or cause reduced life quality for the pregnant women is a determinating factor for the perinatologists. The aim of this study is to evaluate the attitudes and approaches of the obstetricians and pediatricians during the termination of the pregnancy from second trimester to delivery in the context of the medical ethics. The research was applied to 55 obstetricians and 55 pediatricians who are working in Mersin. "Professional identity information", "ethical issues related to termination of the pregnancy", "creating a reference in the decision of the termination of the pregnancy" and "cases" were questioned in the survey. The statistical evaluation of the data is done by the Chi square test and Spearman rank correlation analysis. Statistical significance level was taken less than 0.05. According to the results of our research, the obstetricians and pediatricians who worked together during the pregnancy follow ups, respect for the autonomy of the pregnant women and find prenatal diagnostics reliable. Moreover, the majority of the members of the both disciplines have expressed their opinion that multidisciplinary approach is more convenient. Therefore, it can be said that drawing away from one disciplinary approach to multidisciplinary approach which comes with the sharing of the responsibilities, is more reliable and leads to more correct decisions.