The management of the pregnancy in which an abnormal fetus is identified involves a whole multidisciplinary team of specialists. This team comprises the sonographer, fetal medicine specialist, geneticist, neonatologist and paediatric surgeon, along with the nurse specialists within each team. Parents may find the prospect of a postmortem examination of their baby very distressing, but it is a vital part of the management. When parents are told of a fetal abnormality, they must make decisions, the most important being whether to continue or terminate the pregnancy. Management of continuing pregnancies includes communication between hospital and community health workers, continuity of care with the same personnel, adequate time and repeated counselling, written information and contacts with support groups. Fetal sedation may be necessary prior to the fetocide. This is achieved by the administration of diazepam or pethidine into the fetal circulation. An ultrasound should be performed hour after the injection of potassium chloride to ensure cessation of fetal heart pulsation.