Abstract
Although most pregnant women worry about the possibility that there might be something wrong with their baby, few have any specific grounds for this. Statham, Green and Snowdon (1992) found ‘the possibility of something being wrong with the baby’ to be one of the highest scoring worries in a sample of over 1800 women in early pregnancy, with only 11% being not at all worried. However, when asked ‘Have you any reason to think that your baby might be more likely than any other to have some sort of a problem?’ only 13% said ‘yes’, and these were primarily on grounds of age. Age is now widely recognized by women as a risk factor, which, as I shall argue below, may be a mixed blessing. Women take part in screening programmes in order to be reassured that their babies are healthy, rather than with any expectation that they are not and, as Farrant (1985) and Green, Snowdon and Statham (1993) have argued, it is important for service providers to appreciate the implications of this.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abuelo, D.N., Hopmann, M.R., Barsel-Bowers, G. and Goldstein, A. (1991) Anxiety in women with low maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein screening results. Prenatal Diagnosis, 11: 381–385.
Beeson, D. and Golbus, M.S. (1979) Anxiety engendered by amnio-centesis. Birth Defects Original Articles Series, 15, 191–197.
Berne-Frommel, K., Kjessler, B. and Josefson, G. (1983) Anxiety concerning fetal malformation in women who accept or refuse alpha-fetoprotein screening in pregnancy. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2, 94–97.
Berne-Fromell, K., Uddenberg, N. and Kjessler, B. (1983) Psychological reactions experienced by pregnant women with an elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein level. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2, 233–237.
Berne-Frommel, K. and Kjessler, B. (1984) Anxiety concerning fetal malformations in pregnant women exposed or not exposed to an antenatal serum alpha-fetoprotein screening program. Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation, 17, 36–39.
Black, R.B. (1989) A 1 and 6 month follow-up of prenatal diagnosis patients who lost pregnancies. Prenatal Diagnosis, 9, 795–804.
Burton, B.K., Dillard, R.G. and Clark, E.N. (1985a) Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein screening: the effect of participation on anxiety and attitude toward pregnancy in women with normal results. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 152, 540–543.
Burton, B.K., Dillard, R.G. and Clark, E.N. (1985b) The psychological impact of false positive elevations of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 151, 77–82.
Caccia, N., Johnson, J.M., Robinson, G.E. and Barna, T. (1991) Impact of prenatal testing on maternal-fetal bonding: chorionic villus sampling versus amniocentesis. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 165:(4), 1122–1125.
Campbell, S., Reading, A.E., Cox, D.N. et al. (1982) Ultrasound scanning in pregnancy. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1, 57–61.
Chervin, A., Farnsworth, P.B., Freedman, W.L. et al. (1977) Amniocentesis for prenatal diagnosis. New York State Journal of Medicine, August, 1406–1408.
Donnai, D. and Andrews, T. (1988) Screening for Down’s syndrome. New methods allow detection of three fifths of affected pregnancies. British Medical Journal, 297, 876.
Evans, M.I., Bottoms, S.F., Carlucci, T. et al. (1988) Determinants of altered anxiety after abnormal maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein screening. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 159, 1501–1504.
Evers-Kiebooms, G., Swerts, A. and van den Berghe, H. (1988) Psychological aspects of amniocentesis: anxiety feelings in three different risk groups. Clinical Genetics, 33, 196–206.
Farrant, W. (1980) Stress after amniocentesis for high serum alpha-fetoprotein concentrations. British Medical Journal, 281, 452.
Farrant, W. (1985) ‘Who’s for amniocentesis?’ The politics of prenatal screening, in The Sexual Politics of Reproduction, (ed. H. Homans), Gower, London.
Fava, G.A., Kellner, R., Michelacci, L. et al. (1982) Psychological reactions to amniocentesis: a controlled study. American Journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, 143, 509–513.
Fava, G.A., Trombini, G., Michelacci, L. et al. (1983) Hostility in women before and after amniocentesis. Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 28, 29–34.
Fearn, J., Hibbard, B.M., Roberts, A. et al. (1982) Screening for neural-tube defects and maternal anxiety. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 89, 218–221.
Green, J.M. (1990) Calming or harming: a critical review of psychological effects of fetal diagnosis on pregnant women. Galton Institute Occasional Papers, Second series, No 2.
Green, J.M., Snowdon, C. and Statham, H. (1993) Pregnant women’s attitudes to abortion and prenatal screening. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 11, 31–39.
Green, J.M., Statham, H. and Snowdon, C. (1992) Screening for fetal abnormalities: attitudes and experiences, in Obstetrics in the 1990s: Current Controversies, (eds T. Chard and M.P.M. Richards), McKeith Press, London, pp. 65–89.
Green, J.M., Statham, H. and Snowdon, C. (1994) Pregnancy: A Testing Time, Report of the Cambridge Prenatal Screening Study, Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.
Hyde, B. (1986) An interview study of pregnant women’s attitudes to ultrasound scanning. Social Science and Medicine, 22, 587–592.
Jacoby, A. (1988) Mothers’ views about information and advice in pregnancy and childbirth: findings from a national study. Midwifery, 4, 103–110.
Keenan, K.L., Basso, D., Goldkrand, J. and Butler, W.J. (1991) Low level of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein: its associated anxiety and the effects of genetic counselling. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 164, 54–56.
Kolker, A. (1989) Advances in prenatal diagnosis: social-psychological and policy issues. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 5, 601–617.
McCormack, M.J., Rylance, M.E., Newton, J. et al. (1990) Patients’ attitudes following chorionic villus sampling. Prenatal Diagnosis, 10, 253–255.
MacKenzie, I.Z., Boyd, P. and Ferguson, J. (1986) Chorion villus sampling and randomization. Lancet, 26 April, 969–970.
Marteau, T.M. (1991) Psychological aspects of prenatal testing for fetal abnormalities. Irish Journal of Psychology, 12, 121–132.
Marteau, T.M., Kidd, J., Cook, R. et al. (1988) Screening for Down’s syndrome. British Medical Journal, 297, 1469.
Marteau, T.M., Johnson, M., Kidd, J. et al. (1992a) Psychological models in predicting uptake of prenatal screening. Psychology and Health, 6, 13–22.
Marteau, T.M., Cook, R., Kidd, J. et al. (1992b) The psychological effects of false positive results in prenatal screening for fetal abnormality: a prospective study. Prenatal Diagnosis, 12, 205–214.
Milne, L.S. and Rich, U.J. (1981) Cognitive and affective aspects of the responses of pregnant women to sonography. Maternal-Child Nursing Journal (Pittsburg), 10, 15–39.
MRC Working Party on the Evaluation of Chorion Villus Sampling (1991) MRC European trial of chorion villus sampling. Lancet, 337, 1491–1499.
Nicolaides, K.H., Snijders, R.J.M., Gosden, C.M. et al. (1992) Ultrasonographically detectable markers of fetal chromosomal abnormalities. Lancet, 340, 704–707.
Phipps, S. and Zinn, A.B. (1986) Psychological response to amniocentesis: I. Mood state and adaptation to pregnancy. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 25, 131–142.
Porter, M. and Macintyre, S. (1984) What is, must be best: a research note on conservative or deferential responses to antenatal care provision. Social Science and Medicine, 19(11), 1197–1200.
Reading, A.E., Campbell, S., Cox, D.N. and Sledmore, C.M. (1982) Health beliefs and health care behaviour in pregnancy. Psychological Medicine, 12, 379–383.
Reading, A.E. and Cox, D.N. (1982) The effects of ultrasound examination on maternal anxiety levels. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 5, 237–247.
Richards, M.P.M. and Green, J.M. (1993) Attitudes toward prenatal screening for fetal abnormality and detection of carriers of genetic disease: a discussion paper. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 11, 49–56.
Roberts, J. (1986) The consumer’s viewpoint on ultrasound in pregnancy. Bulletin of the British Medical Ultrasound Society, Feb/Mar, 18–19.
Robinson, G.E., Carr, M.L., Olmsted, M.P. and Wright, C. (1991) Psychological reactions to pregnancy loss after prenatal diagnostic testing: preliminary results. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 12, 181–192.
Robinson, G.E., Garner, D.M., Olmstead, M.P. et al. (1988) Anxiety reduction after chorionic villus sampling and genetic amniocentesis. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 159, 953–956.
Robinson, J., Termes, K. and Robinson, A. (1975) Amniocentesis: its impact on mothers and infants. A 1-year follow-up study. Clinical Genetics, 8, 97–106.
Roelofsen, E.E.C., Kamerbeek, L.I. and Tymstra, T.J. (1993) Chances and choices. Psycho-social consequences of maternal serum screening. A report from the Netherlands. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 11, 41–47.
Rothman, B.K. (1986) The Tentative Pregnancy: Prenatal Diagnosis and the Future of Motherhood, Viking Penguin, New York.
Sjogren, B. and Uddenberg, N. (1990) Prenatal diagnosis for psychological reasons: comparison with other indications, advanced maternal age and known genetic risk. Prenatal Diagnosis, 10, 111–120.
Spencer, J.W. and Cox, D.N. (1987) Emotional responses of pregnant women to chorionic villi sampling or amniocentesis. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 157, 1155–1160.
Spencer, J.W. and Cox, D.N. (1988) A comparison of chorionic villi sampling and amniocentesis: acceptability of procedure and maternal attachment to pregnancy. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 72, 714–718.
Spielberger, C.D., Gorsuch, R.L. and Lushene, R.E. (1970) The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Consulting Psychologists Press.
Statham, H. and Green, J. (1993) Serum screening for Down’s syndrome: some women’s experiences. British Medical Journal, 307, 174–176.
Statham, H., Green, J. and Snowdon, C. (1992) Psychological and social aspects of screening for fetal abnormality during routine antenatal care, in Proceedings of ‘Research and the Midwife’, November 1992.
Tabor, A., Jonsson, M.H. (1987) Psychological impact of amniocentesis in low risk women. Prenatal Diagnosis, 7, 443–449.
Thorpe, K., Harker, L., Pike, A. and Marlow, N. (1993) Women’s views of ultrasonography: a comparison of women’s experiences of antenatal ultrasound screening with cerebral ultrasound of their newborn infant. Social Science and Medicine, 36, 311–315.
Tunis, S.L., Golbus, M.S., Copeland, K.L. et al. (1990) Patterns of mood states in pregnant women undergoing chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 37, 191–199.
Verjaal, M., Leschot, N.J. and Treffers, P.E. (1982) Women’s experiences with second trimester prenatal diagnosis. Prenatal Diagnosis, 2, 195–209.
Wald, N.J. and Cuckle, H.S. (1984) Open neural-tube defects, in Antenatal and Neonatal Screening, (ed. N.J. Wald), Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Wald, N.J., Cuckle, H.S., Densem, J.W. et al. (1988) Maternal serum screening for Down’s syndrome in early pregnancy. British Medical Journal, 297, 883–887.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Green, J.M. (1994). Women’s experiences of prenatal screening and diagnosis. In: Abramsky, L., Chapple, J. (eds) Prenatal Diagnosis. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3027-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3027-9_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-55360-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-3027-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive