Does offering prenatal screening influence pregnant women's attitudes regarding prenatal testing?

This study aims to find out whether offering prenatal screening for Down syndrome and neural tube defects influences pregnant women's attitudes toward having a screening test.

Women were randomised into a group that was offered prenatal screening and a group that was not offered screening (controls). Both groups completed questionnaires before screening was offered, after the offer (not the control group), and in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Women with a neutral attitude at baseline who accepted the screening test had a more positive attitude, decliners became more negative and the attitude of the control group did not change.

Offering prenatal screening triggers a change in some pregnant women's attitude regarding prenatal testing. This instability of women's attitudes may pose a problem for determining whether some women made an informed choice.