[Attitude of pregnant women to prenatal screening]

The aim of the study was to describe the opinion of pregnant women who had accepted or declined an alpha-fetoprotein test (AFP) not only on AFP-screening in general, but also on whether every pregnant woman should be offered amniocentesis (AC)/chorion villus sampling (CVS) and an ultrasound scan for fetal malformations. An additional aim was to describe pregnant women's attitudes concerning continued research in the prenatal field. The study was performed as a questionnaire study in two regions over a one-year period from October 1, 1988 to September 30, 1989. Results are based on answers from 3331 women who had taken an AFP-test and 336 women who had declined the offer of a test. A total of 79% of the women thought that an AFP-test, 70% that an ultrasound scan for fetal malformations and 26% that AC or CVS should be offered to all pregnant women. Fifty-nine percent of the women were positive towards continued research in the prenatal field. Women who had had an AFP-test were generally much more positive towards screening and research than women who had declined, who were generally against. Women who had left school without a high school degree were on average more positive towards the screening issues than women who had this degree. In conclusion, the results obtained in this study strongly suggest that women's attitudes are very dependent on how the prenatal screening programme is already organized in their local area.