Ethnic Differences in Prenatal Screening for Down Syndrome: information, decision-making and participation

Pregnant women and their partners are increasingly\nconfronted with choices whether or not to\nparticipate in prenatal screening for structural,\ngenetic, and chromosomal disorders, such as\nDown syndrome. Studies in several countries have\ndocumented ethnic differences in the provision of\ninformation about prenatal screening and Down\nsyndrome, pregnant women’s knowledge and attitude\nand their participation in prenatal screening\nfor Down syndrome.1-27 This thesis addresses the\nquestion whether such differences also exist in the\nNetherlands, where 20% of the population currently\nconsists of individuals from non-Dutch\nethnic origin.\nThe research as presented in this thesis reports\non studies on ethnic differences in the provision\nof information about prenatal screening for Down\nsyndrome, pregnant women’s knowledge about\nprenatal screening and Down syndrome, their decision-\nmaking process and actual (non-) participation\nin prenatal screening for Down syndrome.\nThis introductory chapter fi rst provides background\ninformation on Down syndrome, prenatal screening\ntests, the Dutch prenatal screening practice and\nthe multi-ethnic population in the Netherlands.\nThe aim and outline of the thesis are presented at\nthe end of this chapter.