Selective reduction: an unfortunate misnomer.

When the number of fetuses in multifetal pregnancies is reduced in the first trimester, the gender and karyotypic status of individual fetuses are rarely, if ever known. In these cases, the only basis for choosing to terminate a particular fetus is the physical location of its sac. The term "selective reduction" is therefore inaccurate, and may be psychologically damaging because it implies that specific fetuses have been targeted. We believe that this procedure should be referred to as multifetal pregnancy reduction.