Communication between healthcare professionals and families in the context of prenatal identification of intersex variations: a scoping review protocol

This scoping review aims to map and examine how the literature describes, frames, and conceptualizes communication between healthcare professionals and families in the context of prenatal identification of intersex variations. Advances in prenatal technologies, particularly noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and improved fetal imaging, have increased the likelihood that variations of sex characteristics may be suspected or identified during pregnancy. These developments create complex communication challenges, as healthcare professionals must explain probabilistic screening results, address genotype–phenotype uncertainty, and support families who may have limited prior knowledge about intersex variations. Despite growing empirical and ethical discussions on prenatal screening for intersex variations, literature focusing specifically on communication in this context remains fragmented across disciplines. This scoping review will map existing evidence on how communication processes, strategies, professional roles, families’ experiences, ethical considerations, and knowledge gaps are described in the literature related to prenatal identification of intersex variations.