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Twin Gestation Pregnancies: Genetic Counseling and Testing Experience

  • Original Paper
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Journal of Genetic Counseling

We report on the prenatal genetic counseling and testing experience in 343 pregnancies with twin or higher multiple gestations. By self-report, 8% (27/343) parents of these pregnancies reported meeting with a genetic counselor, and 23% (79/343) elected prenatal genetic testing. The most common testing procedures elected were maternal serum analyte screening and amniocentesis to identify fetuses with aneuploidy or neural tube defects. Use of prenatal genetic testing was correlated with advanced maternal age. No association was found between use of genetic testing and use of OI/ART or the length of time needed to conceive. Forty percent (11/27) of those who met with a genetic counselor opted to decline prenatal testing/screening. These data suggest that although clients with multiple gestation pregnancies would likely benefit from genetic counseling, many are not availing themselves of this service. Implications of these data for the genetic counseling profession are discussed.

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Notes

  1. The results of the neuropsychometric assessments are not germane to this analysis and will be presented elsewhere.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Development (HD38075). We would like to thank Carol Brytczuk, Donald Miller, and Saradha Ramesh, MBBS (SR), and the research assistants at Case Western Reserve University for their assistance with data collection and analysis, as well as Maria Baker, PhD, CGC and the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments regarding this manuscript. We also would like to thank the elementary schools, clubs for parents of twins, and the Ohio State Bureau of Health Statistics for their assistance with subject recruitment. Finally, a special thanks is extended to the parents and twins enrolled in our study, without whose help our research would not be possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Developmental and Health Genetics and the Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, U.S.

    Kathryn F. Peters, Brian M. Saltsman & Stephen A. Petrill

  2. M.S., Center for Developmental and Health Genetics, 101 Amy Gardner House, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, U.S.

    Kathryn F. Peters

Authors
  1. Kathryn F. Peters
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  2. Brian M. Saltsman
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  3. Stephen A. Petrill
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Correspondence to Kathryn F. Peters.

APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS CREATED TO ASSESS GENETIC COUNSELING EXPERIENCE

APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS CREATED TO ASSESS GENETIC COUNSELING EXPERIENCE

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Peters, K.F., Saltsman, B.M. & Petrill, S.A. Twin Gestation Pregnancies: Genetic Counseling and Testing Experience. J Genet Counsel 15, 119–127 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-005-9007-2

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