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Reproductive decisions after neonatal screening identifies cystic fibrosis
T Dudding1, B Wilcken, B Burgess
1Hunter Genetics, Hunter Area Health Service, PO Box 84, Waratah, 2298 NSW, Australia. tdudding@mail.newcastle.edu.au
Aims:
To document the reproductive choices made by women in New South Wales, Australia, after neonatal screening has identified cystic fibrosis (CF).
Methods:
A sample of women attending cystic fibrosis clinics in New South Wales who had a child (or children) diagnosed by neonatal screening between 1981 and 1996 were interviewed.
Results:
Two thirds of the women chose to avoid having another child with CF. The uptake of prenatal diagnosis was 66% in women who had a subsequent pregnancy; of these 69% terminated or would have terminated an affected fetus. Fifty nine per cent of the women who decided against a further pregnancy made this decision in order to avoid having another child with CF.
Conclusions:
These data show that having a child with CF influenced subsequent reproductive choices. In addition to the medical advantages of an early diagnosis offered by neonatal screening, this also allows informed future reproductive decisions.