Attitudes towards prenatal diagnosis and termination in women who have a sibling with Down's syndrome

Abstract

This study surveyed the views of 78 women who had a sibling with Down's syndrome towards using prenatal diagnosis and termination. Other data were collected, including participants' perceptions of the difficulty of caring for a child with Down's syndrome, perceived familial approval of selective termination, and the quality of the sibling relationship. Fifty‐four per cent of respondents said they would use diagnostic tests for Down's syndrome in a future pregnancy, 37% would not, and 9% were unsure. In contrast, 33% would consider terminating a pregnancy for Down's syndrome, 53% would not consider termination, and 14% were unsure. Logistic regression showed that the perceived difficulty of caring for a child with Down's syndrome and perceived parental approval of selective termination were the strongest overall predictors of both attitudes. However, women who were younger than their affected sibling were more likely to want to use prenatal diagnosis, and a generally favourable attitude towards abortion predicted a favourable view towards terminating a pregnancy for Down's syndrome. In general, a positive picture emerged of having a sibling with Down's syndrome although around one‐third of the women viewed the impact on themselves and their family as negative and this was reflected in their attitudes towards prenatal testing and termination.