A prenatal diagnosis of a serious malformation or the suspicion of a life-limiting illness of the unborn child puts parents in an exceptional emotional state in which they need immediate help. Given the ambiguous legal situation and the lack of guidelines for termination after the 14th week of pregnancy, it is essential that parents are not left alone with the consequences of modern prenatal diagnostics. Only prompt multidisciplinary counselling that presents all options in an unbiased way can prevent decisions being made in the heat of the moment that might be bitterly regretted and cast a shadow over the family’s entire future life without a chance of being properly integrated. An informed, well-prepared decision enables the parents to process the traumatic event as well as possible and integrate it into their later lives. An experienced palliative care physician should advise on the possibility of a birth of the child with palliative accompaniment as an alternative to termination of pregnancy even at the first reasonable suspicion of an unfavorable prognosis.