Women Often Skip Prenatal Genetic Testing After Being Educated About It

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Pregnant women who are educated about the potential risks and benefits of prenatal genetic screening are less apt to undergo such screening, according to a JAMA study.

Roughly 750 women up to 20 weeks' gestation were randomized to an experimental intervention or usual care. In the intervention, participants completed a 45-minute decision-support computer program comprising general education, age-based risks for fetal aneuploidy, and questions about testing preferences. The program provided a personalized testing strategy, but the decision to undergo testing was left to the patient. With usual care, prenatal genetic screening was often recommended for women aged 35 years and up.

Women in the intervention group were less likely than those in the usual-care group to undergo invasive diagnostic testing (6% vs. 12%), and were more likely to opt for no testing at all (26% vs. 20%).