Abstract
Objective To investigate the reasons for decision-making and concerns of
patients in the field of prenatal screening, invasive prenatal diagnostic
testing (IPDT), and termination of pregnancy (TOP).
Study Design This questionnaire-based study consisted of 107 pregnant
women who were referred for prenatal screening to the Hacettepe University
Hospital. The questionnaire given to patients was prepared from scratch since
there is no standard set of questions measuring patients’ feelings and
concerns regarding prenatal screening/diagnosis, IPDT, and TOP.
Results Our questionnaire results showed that it is possible to classify
decision-making factors into 6 groups: psychological, social, fear,
religious/faith, support, and trust. The majority of patients were
undecided (48.6%) about IPDT if prenatal screening test results were
risky. Only 23.4% of patients were willing to accept IPDT. On the other
hand, 55.1% of patients were not willing to undergo TOP if the fetal
karyotyping results were abnormal. Religious factors seem to be important in
refusing IPDT and TOP.
Conclusion Physicians should re-evaluate their practice in the field of
prenatal screening and diagnosis in light of the high refusal rates of IPDT and
TOP. Understanding factors influencing womenʼs decision-making processes
provides insight for service providers to help women at high risk of having
foetal anomalies to make better-informed choices.
Key words
antenatal care - pregnancy - prenatal diganostics