Information on Prenatal Diagnosis at the Antenatal Clinic: The Women's Experiences

The issue of information and autonomy (informed consent) in prenatal diagnosis (PND) was studied by questionnaires given to women undergoing amniocentesis (group A, n = 122) or chorionic villus biopsy (group V, n = 90). About 1/4 of the women were also interviewed. Sixty‐eight percent of the women had learnt most about PND already before visiting the antenatal clinic. More women in group A (75%) than in group V (51%) were satisfied with the information given at the clinic, probably because amniocentesis is a well‐known routine, while chorionic villus biopsy is not. Further, in both groups, more of the women who underwent PND because of age were satisfied with the information than those having PND because of strong fear of giving birth to a handicapped baby. This might be explained by the complicated character of this fear, which the medical staff could not always understand and meet. Also the women who were investigated because of a known genetic problem seemed to need more specialized genetic counselling. Fifty‐eight percent of the women were well informed about the risk of giving birth to a child with a congenital disorder and 83% about which disorders could be detected by the procedure they were undergoing. Seventy‐three percent had not felt any uneasiness when they were offered PND by their midwife or gynecologist; 18% had initiated the discussion themselves. Seventy‐four percent of the women recommended that the medical staff actively offered PND. Most women (87%) answered that the midwife's or gynecologist's attitude towards PND had been positive. The majority (85%) considered that there is a risk of persuasion in counselling. However, 75% had felt independent and autonomous in their decision‐making about PND.