Prenatal diagnosis: the experience in families who have children

Recent investigations have documented the potentially stressful nature of prenatal diagnostic testing but no systematic attention has been paid to the particular experiences of women who already have other offspring in the home. Some evidence suggests an alteration of parent-child relationships. Further support for need to inquire into this issue can be found in the extensive literature concerned with children's reactions to death and bereavement, as well as to miscarriage. Results are presented from a study of the experiences of families in which mothers used prenatal diagnostic testing. The sample consisted of 112 women drawn from an outpatient population receiving prenatal testing and their 175 living offspring who were 4 years old or older. Over two thirds of the mothers indicated they had told at least one child in the family about the testing, and children's reactions were characterized as very interested, with low to moderate levels of anxiety, worry, or confusion about the testing. More extreme, worrisome reactions were the exception. In a few cases children were reported to have been concerned about the possibilities of harm to the mother and about abortion. Some of the preschool age children seem to have been frightened by overly graphic descriptions of the procedure itself. A few mothers also voiced concerns that as a result of knowing about the testing their children might become frightened and feel less secure about their own imperfections.