Knowledge and attitudes towards prenatal diagnostic procedures among pregnant women in Greece

To assess knowledge and attitudes towards prenatal diagnostic procedures among pregnant women living in Greece who underwent amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling in relation to underlying demographic, lifestyle and medical history predictors.

354 women, upon receiving the results, were interviewed in person. A structured questionnaire was answered based upon sociodemographic, educational, lifestyle and medical history variables, as well as questions pertaining to the women's knowledge, use and opinion of prenatal tests. Summary statistics and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed.

No prior information on prenatal diagnostic procedures was reported in 29% or on prenatal screening tests in 50% of the study subjects. Women with no history of inherited diseases were about threefold more likely to have inadequate knowledge (OR = 2.72, p = 0.01) as were women of non-Greek nationality (OR = 3.27, p = 0.02) as well as those who reported being unaware of the health consequences of smoking during pregnancy (OR = 2.50, p = 0.005). By contrast, women of higher education were over twofold more likely to attain a higher level of knowledge of prenatal diagnostic procedures (OR = 0.51, p = 10(-4)) as were those reported reading the popular press (OR = 0.44, p = 10(-4)).

In spite of the increased availability of prenatal diagnosis, much more is needed to be done in order to improve the efficiency of prenatal counseling, especially in immigrants and women with a low educational background.