Conjoined twins and legal authorization for abortion.

Objective: To describe pregnancies with conjoined twins according to the request for legal termination of pregnancy.

Methods: Retrospective review of pregnancies with conjoined twins, with no possibility of extrauterine survival or postnatal surgical separation, observed at a tertiary teaching hospital, between 1998 and 2010.

Results: Amongst 30 cases seen during the study period, six (20.0%) couples decided to continue with the pregnancy, termination of pregnancy was not requested due to advanced gestational age (> 25 weeks) in 5 cases (16.7%). Legal authorization to terminate the pregnancy was requested in 19 (63.3%) cases: permission was granted in 12 (63.2%), denied in five (26.3%) and information was missing in two (10.5%) cases. A successful vaginal delivery was performed in 83.3% of the cases undergoing termination of pregnancy and a cesarean section was performed in all the remaining cases (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: In pregnancies with conjoined twins and without fetal prognosis, legal termination of the pregnancy is an alternative. Moreover, a successful vaginal delivery can be performed in most cases before the third trimester, further reducing maternal risks and parental suffering.