Women's preferences for reporting of Down syndrome screening results

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine whether women prefer the results of screening for Down syndrome tests to be reported as the risk of Down syndrome in early pregnancy at the time of the screening test or the risk at delivery (which takes into account the number of Down syndrome pregnancies that will be spontaneously lost before birth). Design. A structured questionnaire. Setting. A tertiary hospital antenatal clinic. Sample. One hundred and fifteen English-speaking women who expressed an interest in having screening tests for Down syndrome performed. Methods. A structured questionnaire exploring women's preferences for risk reporting was self administered by women attending for their first antenatal visit. Main outcome measures. Women's preference for reporting of screening test results as risk at time of test, risk at birth or both, and the reasons for this preference. Results. The majority (n = 82) of women preferred to have both the risk of Down syndrome at the time of screening and at the time of birth reported. The most common reason (n = 60) given for this preference was a desire to have as much information available as possible so that an informed decision regarding further investigations could be made. Conclusions. The majority of women prefer to receive Down syndrome screening results as both the risk at the time of the test and the risk at birth.