A survey of attitudes about maternal serum screening for fetal chromosome abnormalities in women 35 years of age and older

We asked two groups of women their opinion on prenatal diagnosis and matern al serum screening (MSS): group 1 comprised women who had undergone a prena tal diagnostic procedure (amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling) for a dvanced maternal age(greater than or equal to 35 years) and group 2 women w ho had undergone MSS and were 30-34 years old. Women in group 1 were found significantly less likely to choose MSS over prenatal diagnosis than were w omen in group 2. The sensitivity of MSS and the age-related risk of chromos ome abnormalities influenced opinions on whether to choose MSS or prenatal diagnosis. In both groups, the majority stated that they would accept MSS o ver prenatal diagnosis, if their obstetrician recommended it.