Breaking bad news to a pregnant woman with a fetal abnormality on ultrasound.

Ultrasound is a common procedure performed in pregnancy. Most obstetric patients have an ultrasound between 18 and 20 weeks' gestation. While there is debate regarding the utility of this ultrasound, it has become a routine part of prenatal care. Discovery of a fetal anomaly on ultrasound is most commonly an unexpected, emotionally devastating event for pregnant women. Counseling these women about the ultrasound findings requires empathy and sensitivity. This task falls on the physicians caring for pregnant women: maternal-fetal medicine specialists, radiologists, generalist obstetricians, and family medicine physicians. Their training regarding breaking bad news is varied. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide a framework to break bad news of an anomalous fetus for physicians caring for pregnant women using the SPIKES protocol. The SPIKES acronym stands for setting, perception, invitation, knowledge, empathize, summary, and strategy.