Use of genetic counselling services for neural tube defects.

Genetic counselling is recommended for parents of children with neural tube defects (NTDs) to inform them of the recurrence risks and the option of prenatal diagnosis. British Columbia provides an excellent site to examine the use by parents of genetic counselling services for NTDs. Genetic services for the entire province are centralized, and there is virtually complete ascertainment of all NTD births. The results from this study indicate that use of genetic counselling services is influenced by the type of NTD present and whether the index case was live or stillborn. Genetic counselling is most often sought after the birth of a liveborn infant with spina bifida.